On September 16, 2026, a former Cornell University student filed a civil lawsuit under the pseudonym Jane Doe against Cornell, several Chi Phi fraternity organizations, multiple students, and others seeking compensatory and punitive damages for an alleged 2024 gang rape. According to the complaint, Doe, on the night of the alleged rape, drank intoxication-level amounts of alcohol at her Tri-Delta Sorority and went to Chi Phi, a fraternity of a male friend. The complaint claimed that by 11 pm, she was visibly intoxicated, then offered and pressured into taking ketamine by frat members as they engaged in sexual activity. Over the course of nearly six hours of subsequent assault, Doe “felt like [she] was unable to make any decisions because of how intoxicated [she] was”
After Doe initially reported the incident in November 2024, the Cornell University Police Department (CUPD) and the local District Attorney’s office (DA) declined to bring criminal charges due to supposed contradictions and lack of legal proof of “rape.” As this case resurfaced onto the national stage, shock and outrage from both Cornell students and the broader populace have restarted the conversation about sexual assault on college campuses. While the case has, of course, focused on the male students’ individual faults, it also exposes systemic failures beyond the perpetrators. In fact, the institutions of fraternities and sororities, local law enforcement, and the broader Cornell Administration created the conditions that exacerbated the horrors that Jane Doe went through.
The first system that created the conditions for the horrors Jane Doe experienced was the fraternity and sorority she was associated with. As previously mentioned, both the fraternity and sorority had access to alcohol, with the fraternity also having ketamine—neither of which is legal for recreational use in New York for anyone under 21. 20 years old at the time, Jane Doe was underage for both.
While it may seem like the presence of illicit substances reflects individuals’ bad decisions, the underlying structures of Greek Life organizations encourage this behavior. Patricia Yancey Martin & Robert A. Hummer’s 1989 study on Fraternities and Rape on Campus lays out the details. The authors argue that fraternity norms—such as an emphasis on narrow masculinity; loyalty and secrecy; the use of alcohol as a weapon; and commodification of women—make rape especially probable and unreported. When the fraternity normalizes extreme intoxication and shields illegal drug proliferation behind loyalty, the resulting assault becomes connected to the institutionalized system and is no longer just a random occurrence. In the case of her own sorority, Jane Doe was in a space that normalized heavy drinking and underage drinking, leading to her drinking an amount of alcohol equal to 10 standard 12-ounce cans of beer in one sitting, potentially setting off the instability that led to the rest of the night. Ultimately, the system didn’t perpetrate the rape—that’s the fault of individuals—but it did worsen situations by bringing in drugs, alcohol, and harmful norms into the equation.
The second institution of fault is the local law enforcement and judicial system, which failed to serve, in a breakdown between themselves. Originally, the DA’s office chose not to convict, as Doe’s sworn statement in November of 2024 “did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped.” Later, it was revealed that the later transcript of the CUPD interview of Doe included her saying, “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped,” contradicting the claim from the DA’s office, that they never received such transcript. The cracks here are with the CUPD’s institution. When an independent police force, like CUPD, operates as the main handlers of information, with clear control by a partial university, the vital information can be mishandled. Therefore, as the police institution at Cornell mishandled the information the plaintiff clearly laid out, the plaintiff was left with the less punitive Title IX policies or civil courts, blocked from criminal lawsuits she will now likely receive, as a special prosecutor has been appointed to the case.
Finally, the broader Cornell Administration’s reaction to the recent revival of the alleged rape has been lukewarm at best, showing their consistent overall apathy. Recently, Cornell released a FAQ page regarding the incident amid campus shock, but the university’s newspaper found that there were major inconsistencies between the administration and the DA, including the level of initial cooperation and details of punishment against perpetrators, among other confusions. The official video of Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff addressing the backlash, while voicing concerns and aspirations for the broader Cornell community, and saying “we owe it to Jane Doe,” in enhancing visibility for rape incidents, ultimately falls short of a direct apology. This address also feels half-hearted because it is unclear where President Kotlikoff wants progress. How does the community know it has been “doing more” and where the threshold is? Additionally, the video does not specify a clear entity that ought to take responsibility, despite the broader Cornell organization’s mishandling of the incident. Ultimately, Kotlikoff, by not naming internal factors like the CUPD that had faults in handling Doe’s incident, comes across as a bit suppressive and too risk-averse.
Jane Doe’s case opens the nation’s eyes to the handling of rape on university campuses and seemingly ambivalent reactions by the one of the best universities. Her story shows us that while perpetrators are the one who does the heinous act of sexual assault, the fault doesn’t stop there. They extend beyond that: to the police who misunderstand the incidents, to the social circles that perpetuate rape culture, and to the schools that give minimal punishment and visibility until public opinion notices it. For those who want to change the status quo of rape in higher education, I urge you to look beyond the obvious offenders. The actions of the individuals may have ignited the anguish Doe received since September 2024, but it is the structure of institutions that pours gasoline on the forest floor, allowing the fire to spread unchecked. Ultimately, systemic crises demand a systemic cure, and that starts by holding fraternities, campus police, and university administrations accountable.
