The former Cornell student who alleges she was drugged and raped by seven members of a fraternity on the school's Ithaca, N.Y., campus in October 2024, wrote in a letter to faculty leadership that the university’s president expressed doubt in her account months after she reported it to campus police.
In a two-page letter to the Faculty Senate obtained by the New York Times, the former student, identified in a civil lawsuit as "Jane Doe," said that Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff’s “initial response” to her allegations “was along the lines of, ‘Why did she wait so long to report it?’”
The alleged assault occurred at the Chi Phi fraternity house on Oct. 19 and 20, 2024. She reported it to campus police on Nov. 8.
Read more from Yahoo: A timeline of the Cornell University rape case
According to Jane Doe, Kotlikoff’s response came during a private meeting he had in January 2025 with leaders of Cornell’s sororities — including hers.
She said the sorority president then relayed the comments to her.
“I felt unsupported and disbelieved by President Kotlikoff,” the former student wrote in her letter to the Faculty Senate. “It diminished my confidence in the administration’s ability to approach my experience with the understanding, sensitivity, and fairness I had hoped for and expected from what had been my dream school.”
In a statement to the Times, Cornell said that the “second-hand account” of the president’s exchange was inaccurate and that his comments were not directed at Jane Doe.
“The question ‘Why did it take so long for the assault to be reported?’ was directed at bystanders who did not use Cornell’s anonymous tip line, despite ongoing social media activity about the incident in October 2024,” the university said in a statement. “He was not questioning Jane Doe’s reporting.”
Cornell’s handling of the Jane Doe case has come under intense scrutiny, reigniting the national debate over consent and sexual assault on college campuses and triggering calls for Kotlikoff to resign.
The Faculty Senate is considering a no-confidence resolution to condemn the school's response to sexual violence on campus. A vote on the resolution is expected at the end of the month.
In an interview with the New York Times last week, Kotlikoff said he learned of Jane Doe's allegations shortly after she reported them to campus police, but did not follow up with her or seek to determine whether the fraternity members she accused had been punished. He also said he was not informed when Matthew Van Houten, the local prosecutor, declined to bring charges and that he was unaware Jane Doe had dropped out of Cornell until last month, when she filed suit.
"The fact that Jane Doe experienced what she experienced at Cornell is something that I am personally sorry for," Kotlikoff said. "And I think this entire campus is sorry that occurred."
All of the men identified in Jane Doe's civil suit have denied any wrongdoing, and none has been charged with a crime.
This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/jane-doe-says-cornell-president-questioned-why-she-waited-to-report-rape-allegations-the-university-disputes-it-175851367.html