Cornell’s president called the alleged gang rape of a student at a fraternity house in 2024 “deeply disturbing” Saturday (October 3, 2026), said it would weigh on the university for years to come and pledged greater transparency amid mounting outrage over the school’s handling of the case.

In an eight-minute video message to the Cornell community, Michael Kotlikoff described the past week as one of the most difficult in the university’s history and acknowledged troubling questions about the investigations that followed the allegations.

“My heart aches when I think of what she experienced,” Mr. Kotlikoff said. “It raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanisation, and aspects of party culture, alcohol and drug use.”

Mr. Kotlikoff reaffirmed his commitment to supporting an independent review of Cornell’s handling of the case called for by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and said the school’s Board of Trustees would announce details next week. He also expressed support for Ms. Hochul’s decision to turn the criminal investigation over to the state attorney general.

“I want to acknowledge something that can be difficult for an institution to say,” Mr. Kotlikoff said. “We don’t have all the answers, but we are committed to investigating and finding the answers our community deserves.”

Scrutiny has mounted in recent days over Cornell’s response to allegations that the woman was sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members in 2024. The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, has sued the university and seven former students.

During a student assembly hearing Thursday (Octover 1, 2026) that allowed students to voice concerns and discuss proposals to improve Cornell’s response to sexual assault, several speakers called for Mr. Kotlikoff’s resignation.

Ms. Hochul, asked at a news conference Friday (October 2, 2026) whether she believed Mr. Kotlikoff should resign over the university’s handling of the case, declined to take a position, saying she did not yet have enough information.

Mr. Kotlikoff acknowledged frustration that Cornell has not communicated enough, saying that it has led to distrust. While citing “real legal and privacy limits” on what the university can disclose, he pledged greater transparency and more opportunities for students, parents and others to engage with university leaders.

He also committed Cornell’s support to legislative efforts to change New York’s sexual assault laws.

The case has renewed scrutiny of a state law that makes it difficult to prosecute sexual assaults involving people who voluntarily consume alcohol or drugs, even if they become too intoxicated to consent.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten cited the law in defending his initial decision not to pursue charges, saying the woman’s original statement to police described voluntary drug use and sexual activity.

Critics have long sought to close what they call the “voluntary intoxication loophole,” which distinguishes between people incapacitated by drugs administered without their consent and those who voluntarily became intoxicated. Ms Hochul has pledged to push for legal changes.

Mr. Kotlikoff also called for a “serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life,” saying Cornell would engage students, alumni and others in examining how to preserve the benefits of Greek life while strengthening accountability and transparency.

“Being part of a group can never diminish individual responsibility for our own actions, for how we treat others or for speaking up when someone may be at risk,” he said.

U.S. prosecutors reopened an investigation on Monday (September 28, 2026) into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University following claims the elite college failed to properly punish the men involved.

The alleged victim said in a civil lawsuit this month she was drugged with ketamine, assaulted and raped in 2024 by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, a social club for male students.

Cornell closed the fraternity and temporarily suspended the students involved, several of whom were later expelled.

The newly-released details of the alleged incident have fuelled allegations that the university was too lenient and reignited a debate over sexual assault on U.S. campuses.

Matthew Van Houten, district attorney for Tompkins County in New York, said that he plans to file criminal charges against the seven men.

He said his office chose in 2024 not to prosecute because the victim’s testimony did not establish a lack of consent, but had now decided to do so in light of her latest allegations.

“I recognise the reality that it can take years of therapy and healing for victims of sexual assaults to fully process and understand what happened to them,” Mr. Van Houten said in a statement.

“Seeking justice sometimes requires us to reconsider or reopen cases when we are provided with additional evidence.”

Kyle Kimball, vice president of university relations at Cornell, said the Ivy League school supports the decision to reinvestigate the case.

He also rejected a claim, made in the civil lawsuit, that the suspects were offered the opportunity to write essays to mitigate their conduct.

“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” Mr. Kimball said.

The 101-page civil lawsuit filed in New York gives graphic details on the alleged assault of the woman, whose identity is being protected.

Notably, it provides a screenshot of a Snapchat group message advertising “free pussy” during the incident, apparently an invitation for other fraternity members to take part.

The suit seeks financial damages from Cornell and the seven suspects, adding that the woman has suffered “severe emotional and psychological distress.”

British actor Florence Pugh has voiced her anger about the case, saying she felt “uneasy and sick and anxious” after hearing about it.

“Colleges/schools/universities repeatedly fail women around the world,” she wrote on Instagram.

“You build men that get taught through time and time again that they can do extreme harm and that they won’t be harmed in return,” Ms. Pugh said.

Prominent Democratic lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned a “culture of rape” at elite institutions like Cornell.

“Jane Doe, that survivor, lost her education because you can’t stay in school when something like that happens to you,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday.

“She had to lose her education, and those men were protected by an institution and granted an Ivy League degree as a reward. Never again.”