Cornell Rape Accuser Says President’s Response Made Her Feel Dismissed

A former Cornell University student who alleges she was drugged and gang-raped by seven men at a campus frat house says President Michael Kotlikoff made her feel as though her account was being questioned rather than taken seriously.

In an Oct. 14 letter to Cornell’s faculty senate, the woman, identified as Jane Doe in her lawsuit, described a conversation she was told took place between Kotlikoff and her sorority’s president in January 2025. According to her account, the university leader’s first reaction to the allegations was essentially, “Why did she wait so long to report it?” The New York Times reports.

The letter comes as faculty members prepare to consider a rare no-confidence vote in Kotlikoff’s administration. The senate is scheduled to debate the resolution Oct. 28, with voting to follow. Jane Doe, now 22, said the reported exchange damaged her faith in the institution she once considered her dream school.

“When the then-Tri Delta President relayed this conversation to me, I felt unsupported and disbelieved by President Kotlikoff,” she wrote, adding that the interaction diminished her confidence in the administration’s ability to handle her experience with sensitivity and fairness.

Her attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra, said his client wanted faculty members to have the information before deciding whether to formally rebuke the president. The letter does not explicitly call on the senate to support the no-confidence measure.

Cornell disputes her interpretation of the exchange. A university spokeswoman confirmed that Kotlikoff made a similar remark during a January 2025 meeting but said he was referring to people who knew about the incident and failed to report it through the university’s anonymous tip line. The spokeswoman said the president was not questioning Jane Doe’s credibility.

The alleged assault occurred Oct. 19 and 20, 2024, at the Chi Phi fraternity house. Jane Doe reported the incident to campus police on Nov. 8, triggering a Title IX investigation. Her lawsuit names Cornell, Chi Phi, seven former fraternity members and her sorority, Delta Delta Delta. The accused men have denied wrongdoing, and none has been criminally charged.

Cornell subsequently banned the fraternity from campus, expelled two of the accused men and suspended two others. Three additional men received lesser disciplinary penalties.

Kotlikoff has said he was unaware of the case’s specific details after the initial report. He has also pointed to the creation of a presidential task force on campus sexual assault in February 2025 as evidence that the university took the allegations seriously.

Although the faculty senate cannot remove the president, a no-confidence vote would represent a significant rebuke. Cornell’s board of trustees has continued to support Kotlikoff amid mounting criticism of how the university handled the allegations.

Jane Doe said she submitted her account because faculty members should have access to information that could inform their decision.

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