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A woman who accused seven Cornell University students of raping her at a fraternity house says the university’s president questioned why she waited to report the alleged assault, leaving her feeling “unsupported and disbelieved.”
Her secondhand account of the president’s remark, which Cornell disputes, comes as faculty prepare for a potential vote of no confidence in the Ivy League school’s leadership. She sent a letter to faculty leaders last week, which The Associated Press obtained Tuesday.
The sexual assault allegations by the former student, called Jane Doe in court documents, have sparked campus protests, renewed scrutiny of the university’s disciplinary system and a state investigation into the alleged October 2024 assault.
In the letter, Jane Doe said her sorority president told her that Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff questioned why she waited until the following month to report being assaulted. The sorority leader, who spoke with Kotlikoff in November 2024, interpreted his remark as casting doubt on her story.
“President Kotlikoff’s initial response was along the lines of, `Why did she wait so long to report it?”' Jane Doe wrote in the letter. She said the conversation made her less confident that the administration could handle what happened with the sensitivity and fairness she expected.
Cornell’s dean of faculty, however, offered a different account of the conversation. In an email Tuesday to faculty senators and verified by the AP, professor Chris Schaffer said another official who was present at the conversation recalled Kotlikoff asking why bystanders had not reported the alleged assault sooner through the school’s anonymous tip line, especially since the allegations were already circulating on social media.
Schaffer said he waited to share Jane Doe’s letter with faculty senators until he could get another account of the conversation. He said he forwarded the letter to university lawyers, who passed it on to an independent team investigating Cornell’s response.
Schaffer said at a meeting last week that he was against the proposed no-confidence resolution, saying it identified no specific failures or fixes, but acknowledged faculty frustration. “The anger in our community is justified and I share it.”
Kotlikoff did not respond Tuesday to an email inquiry about Jane Doe’s letter. A statement from a university spokesperson also disputed her account of the conversation, saying Kotlikoff was asking about bystanders’ actions rather than Jane Doe.
Her letter, transmitted through her attorney and first reported by The New York Times, comes as Cornell faculty consider a resolution declaring no confidence in the university administration’s ability to address what some faculty members have described as an “ongoing crisis” of sexual assault on campus.
Faculty members began debating the resolution at a meeting last Wednesday, where Kotlikoff faced pointed questions about the school’s response to sexual assault allegations and its oversight of fraternities. The Faculty Senate is expected to resume debate on Oct. 28 before holding an electronic vote.
In her letter, Jane Doe said she wanted faculty members to have information that might be relevant to their deliberations. She emphasized that she was not trying to tell them how to vote.
“My intention is not to prescribe how the Senate should interpret this account, but rather to provide information that its members may wish to consider or investigate further,” she wrote.
Messages seeking comment were left for Jane Doe’s lawyers, Thomas Giuffra and W. Whitney Seals.
Leah Willingham, The Associated Press
If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:
- Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety.
- The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres’ website has a comprehensive list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling.
- The Ending Violence Association of Canada‘s website has links to helplines, support services and locations across Canada that offer sexual assault kits.
- Indian Residential School Survivors Society crisis lines: +1 866 925 4419 or +1 800 721 0066 (24/7)
- Toronto Rape Crisis Centre crisis line: +1 416 597 8808 (24/7)
- Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: +1 833 900 1010 (24/7)
- Trans Lifeline: +1 877 330 6366
- Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)
- Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre for current and former Canadian Armed Forces members: +1 844 750 1648
- Read about your rights as a victim on the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime website.
