Cornell University has enlisted the help of former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to investigate how the school handles sexual abuse complaints.
A former female student filed a lawsuit against the school and several male students after she was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted.
From ABC News:
A former high-ranking Department of Justice official will look at how Cornell handles sexual misconduct complaints, university trustees announced Tuesday as they tried to address an outpouring of anger over allegations of a 2024 gang rape at a fraternity house.
Sally Yates, who was a deputy attorney general in the Obama administration, will spearhead the review, the trustees said. The assessment is to include how the Ivy League university investigates reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment, how the disciplinary process works, campus police responses and more.
“It is imperative that Cornell be willing to examine itself with the same rigor we expect of others," trustee Chair Anne Meinig Smalling said in a statement.
The announcement comes after days of outrage and a large protest over Cornell’s response to a complaint from a woman known publicly only as Jane Doe. She told campus police in November 2024 that, a few weeks earlier, she had been sexually assaulted by multiple Chi Phi fraternity brothers after being pressured into drinking and taking drugs.
No criminal charges have been filed. The Chi Phi chapter at Cornell was shut down, and the Ivy League university has said it expelled some students and suspended others.
Yates will look at how the woman's complaint was addressed and at the oversight of fraternities, sororities and other campus groups, Cornell said.
There are currently no criminal charges being filed against the alleged assailants. But New York Attorney General Letitia James has launched an investigation into the matter.
Cornell survey showed increase in reports by female undergrads of nonconsensual sexual contact https://t.co/5m51T7ifS7 via @nbcnews
— Mary Jane Anderson (@MaryJan28337231) October 6, 2026
The latest release is the 2025 survey, administered in spring 2025. Cornell’s own summary says 35 percent of undergraduate women who responded reported nonconsensual sexual contact since entering Cornell, up from 23 percent in 2023. The measure is penetration, oral contact, or sexual touching involving physical force, threats of force, or incapacitation. It is not limited to completed rape, and it is an experience since enrollment, not a single-year rate.
— MECFS, MCAS and PTSD (@FatigueMe92484) October 6, 2026
Meanwhile, Cornell University recently released the findings of a study showing that 35 percent of female undergraduates reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact compared to 23 percent in 2023. Almost half of respondents (49 percent) said they faced sexual or gender-based harassment, up from 45 percent in 2023. Another 17 percent reported they experienced stalking, up from 13 percent in 2023.
The lawsuit sparked national discussion over the issue of sexual abuse on college campuses, and it is likely other schools could face scrutiny because of the scandal.
