A staggering 8,227 rapes were reported at American colleges and universities in 2024 — and elite New York schools such as Columbia, Cornell and NYU were far from immune from the plague of sexual violence, a Post review of federal and state crime data found.
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review → report → data
Nationally, the University of Utah had the most reported rapes — nearly double the number logged at the next-highest schools.
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University → have → schools
The 36,894-student public university in Salt Lake City recorded a shocking 146 rape accusations in 2024, according to data from the US Department of Education.
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university → record → Education
Most of the alleged attacks, 122, took place in dorms, while another 18 reportedly happened in other campus buildings, and six occurred in off-campus property run by the school or a student organization.
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six → allege → school
The University of Colorado Boulder had the second highest count, with 96 rapes reported in 2024, followed by Ohio State University, with 67.
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University → have → 67
The other schools that made the national top 10 in 2024 were Penn State University, with 57 reported rape cases; UCLA with 52 cases; the University of California Santa Cruz, 46; the University of California Santa Barbara, 43; Indiana University, 43; University of Kansas, 39 and University of Kentucky, 37.
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that → make → Kentucky
In New York, Columbia University stood out with 262 reported incidents of sexual violence in 2024.
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University → stand → 2024
While federal data tracks rape, New York’s state reporting rules require colleges to report more broadly — sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking in a combined tally.
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rules → track → tally
The Big Apple Ivy logged 21 reported rapes on campus, all of which were reported in residence halls.
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all → log → halls
Not only did Columbia have the highest number of sexual violence incidents reported, it also had the worst record out of the large New York schools when it came to investigating and taking disciplinary action, a Post analysis found.
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analysis → have → action
Of the 262 incidents reported to the school’s Title IX coordinator in 2024, only three were investigated.
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three → report → 2024
Of those, only a single case resulted in the accused student being expelled.
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student → result → those
It wasn’t just a one-year blip — over the full period since this data has been collected and made available, from 2018 to 2024, Columbia consistently had the worst record of the Empire State colleges.
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Columbia → collect → colleges
Over those seven years, an average of 9% of the 1,202 total reported cases were investigated, and just 1% — 17 cases — resulted in disciplinary action.
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% → report → action
Columbia student Emma Sulkowicz famously carried the mattress she said she was sexually assaulted on around campus for months to protest the university’s lack of action against her accused rapist — even bringing it on the stage as she graduated in 2015.
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she → carry → 2015
Paul Nungesser, her classmate, was accused of raping her during sophomore year in 2012 – but he was cleared after a university investigation.
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he → accuse → investigation
NYU reported 229 cases of sexual violence in 2024.
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NYU → report → 2024
Of these, 28 were investigated, and 10 resulted in disciplinary action.
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10 → investigate → action
SUNY Albany followed with 217 cases and SUNY Binghamton 198.
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Binghamton → follow → cases
Cornell University, which is at the center of a drug-fueled gang rape scandal, had 166 cases of sexual violence reported in 2024 — the year the alleged incident occurred at the Chi Phi frat house in October.
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incident → fuel → October
That year, 18 of the cases were investigated and disciplinary action was taken in 11 cases, which included three expulsions and four suspensions, according to the data.
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which → investigate → data
Two of the Chi Phi guys accused in the gang rape case were expelled, and two others were suspended for a year, the university’s president has said.
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president → accuse → year
The university faced backlash after an alleged victim’s lawsuit argued that some of the accused rapists were allowed to return to campus after submitting essays about the alleged assault.
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some → face → assault
Reported sex offenses on college campuses skyrocketed over the past decade, rising nearly fivefold, even as research suggests a small minority, between 2% to 10% of sexual assault reports are false — such as the infamous Duke University lacrosse case.
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research → report → case
“The number should be taken seriously, while being understood for what it is: a count of reports, not the full picture,” psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, author of Therapy Nation, told The Post.
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Alpert → take → Post
“Reports aren’t convictions, and the figure can’t possibly tell us how many assaults went unreported,” he added.”
On campus, reporting can mean risking a whole social circle if the accused is a classmate, friend or member of the same group.
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accused → tell → group
The Aporia
