ITHACA — More than 100 Cornell University students, alumni, parents and professors vented their outrage at a meeting Thursday night over the bombshell Jane Doe gang rape case — with one student calling others to “fight like hell against the administration.”
asserted
student → vent → administration
Many members of the upstate New York campus community broke down in tears while addressing the hearing — eviscerating the Ivy League’s response to the harrowing allegations from a now-former student, identified as Jane Doe, in 2024.
“Survivors need to know they’re supported … through this event, we’ve seen exactly the opposite,” a student — who divulged she was sexually assaulted two years ago — told the crowd.
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she → break → crowd
“We need to fight like hell against the administration … to my fellow students, speak loud about the wrongdoings that have been done here on campus because if we don’t, we may never be able to again.”
uncertain
we → need → campus
Thursday’s student government hearing at the prestigious school, which has little more than 16,000 undergraduate students, comes as Jane Doe’s gang-rape allegations catapulted into the spotlight this week, calling into question whether the case was mishandled by Cornell, local prosecutors and cops.
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case → have → Cornell
In a 101-page lawsuit, Jane Doe claims seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity took turns raping her for hours on Oct. 20 2024 after allegedly plying her with ketamine and booze.
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members → claim → ketamine
She reported the alleged assault to campus police on Nov. 8 and the school suspended and expelled some of the students following a lengthy Title IX investigation.
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school → report → investigation
However, no criminal charges were ever filed, with prosecutors saying there was insufficient evidence.
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prosecutors → file → ?
Students at Thursday night’s meeting were quick to blame Cornell administration.
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Students → blame → administration
“I think the administration should make a statement instead of hiding in Day Hall like the cowards they are,” one student blasted.
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student → think → cowards
“All I can think about is Jane Doe…How many times did she have to pass her rapists in the hallway?
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she → think → hallway
It’s awful,” they said.
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they → ’ → ?
A male senior said he “refuse[s] to accept a degree from a university who allows … people to be treated this way” and demanded “the university has to be accountable within this year.”
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university → say → year
“Otherwise there’s going to be an instruction from the top down to sexually assault and practice toxic masculinity,” he said.
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he → go → masculinity
The fraternity system, as a whole, “[has] a history of ritualizing sexual violence,” the senior noted, with a professor and mother of a student proposing “we crack down on fraternities on campus and get rid of the ones that consistently violate safety policies and foster other problems.”
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that → have → problems
A male freshman echoed the growing disgust about fraternity cultures, sharing that one of his first experiences on campus this year was running into another first-year outside a frat house who “wasn’t allowed in” and was abandoned by her friends because she “didn’t want to suck a d–k.”
“I can’t even tell you how let down I feel,” a mother of a student said, breaking down in tears immediately.
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mother → echo → tears
Although she is proud of the community and of Jane Doe, the mother said she is “disgusted that she had to file a civil lawsuit to make her voice heard.”
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voice → say → lawsuit
“We’ve been fighting rape culture my entire life,” the mother, who is turning 50 this year, said.
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who → fight → 50
“You should be able to go to any college in the country and be safe,” she demanded, while another stressed, “No woman should feel unsafe walking at the place where they are receiving their education.”
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they → go → education
“They should not feel like all of the evidence and information they give cops won’t make it to the DA’s office,” she added, seemingly referencing the police transcript Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten’s office claimed not to receive in which Jane Doe said, “I can say with 100% confidence that I was raped.”
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I → feel → confidence
Sophia, a student and ACLU member, warned that “the Cornell student body is in a mental health crisis right now” and demanded that “they should not be expected” to fulfill academic responsibilities “while they’re grieving.”
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they → warn → responsibilities
The mother and university professor shared that while she’d “heard many people here tonight say they’re embarrassed and ashamed to be a Cornelian,” she’s “so proud that my child is going here at a time when you all are trying to break the cycle.”
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you → share → cycle
“I don’t want you to be embarrassed.
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you → want → ?
I want you to see the change you can make and make it, because it’s systemic, cultural and it’s been around for a long time,” she said, choking up.
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she → want → time
“You are less likely to get help from administrators,” she cautioned.
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she → get → administrators
“But I promise you there are faculty and staff on this campus who want to help you.”
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who → promise → you
“Use this anger…and get to work tomorrow,” she added.
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she → use → work
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