Thursday, October 01, 2026
PMT: The Cornell Seven
If you haven't been following it, here is a brief synopsis of a case in the news right now that deserves attention:
-- In 2024, a female student at Cornell notified the campus police that she had been sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house after being plied with alcohol. [Quick note: The word "rape" is not a part of many modern criminal codes. Traditionally it meant forcible and involuntary intercourse with a female victim. Often, it was not considered "rape" if a woman did not actively object to the encounter or was vulnerable because of voluntary intoxication. Sexual assault is broader, and allows for prosecution of other types of serious offenses.]
-- Cornell took some action in response to the notification. Chi Phi was barred from campus. It appears that two members of Chi Phi were expelled from school. Others were suspended and/or asked to submit mitigating essays.
-- The case apparently was NOT referred to the Ithaca police department. Rather, the University police directly approached the DA, who did not charge anyone for the assaults. The Cornell police also did not make the full interview with the victim available to the DA.
-- The victim of the crime filed a civil case against the Chi Phi members, which contains horrific allegations. The DA has announced that he will re-open the case.
Obviously, a lot of this will be litigated and I will stick to my practice of not opining on legal cases where I don't have all the evidence. But I WILL say this: the system did not work.
If someone is alleging a sexual assault on campus, the case needs to be referred to the local police, not just handled by the campus police. The thing about campus police is that they are employed by an interested party-- the university that does not want bad publicity.
One thing that should change now: If a student reports a sexual assault, it should be referred to the local police. Every time.
