Cornell University reviews dorm placement of student accused of rape

Faculty may vote no confidence in Cornell’s president

Cornell University said it would examine how university housing officials handled the return of a student disciplined in connection with an alleged 2024 gang rape. “The university will review whether concerns were raised with housing or other offices and, if so, whether appropriate accommodations were provided,” Cornell said.

The student returned to campus this fall after a three-semester suspension and was placed in a co-ed dorm with a roommate who knew nothing about his disciplinary history, according to Corinna Loeckenhoff, a psychology professor familiar with the housing arrangement. Loeckenhoff said housing officials left the accused student in the shared room for two weeks after the woman who made the allegation filed her lawsuit in September. Cornell students shared the accused student’s name and dorm location on social media during that period.

At an Oct. 14 Faculty Senate meeting, Loeckenhoff told Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, according to a recording obtained by The Associated Press: “This was a clear security risk.” Loeckenhoff said, “Cornell’s own records show that, at the very least, he admitted to taking drugs and having sex with an intoxicated person.” She said: “Why was Housing Services not aware of this? They had no clue until the shocked roommate contacted them and asked them for a room change.” Loeckenhoff declined to elaborate on her remarks, citing student privacy concerns, and the roommate declined an interview request made through an intermediary.

Loeckenhoff raised the housing concerns during a Faculty Senate meeting at which professors debated whether to pass a resolution expressing no confidence in Kotlikoff’s leadership. Kotlikoff faces a possible no-confidence vote from faculty this week, and debate resumes Wednesday.

Identified in court papers by the pseudonym Jane Doe, the woman sued Cornell and seven men last month, saying she was given ketamine and raped at a fraternity house in 2024. All seven men denied the allegations, saying either the sex was consensual or they were not involved.

The local district attorney initially decided the woman had consented to the encounter and that no crime had been committed. The investigation has since reopened and been handed to New York’s attorney general.

Following a monthslong Title IX investigation, Cornell disciplined several members of the Chi Phi fraternity. Two were expelled, two received suspensions and probation, and two were required to write “reflection” papers and complete bystander training. A seventh man had already graduated and was barred from campus, according to records obtained by The New York Times.

One of the expelled students later enrolled at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. The university said it was unaware of the allegations when it admitted him and acted immediately after learning of them. Nova Southeastern declined to say what action it took or whether he remains enrolled, citing federal student privacy laws.

Andrew Miltenberg, an attorney representing the student who returned to Cornell, said his client maintains the encounter was consensual. Miltenberg cautioned against treating all seven accused students as equally responsible. “These are seven different people, with different circumstances, and each deserves to be judged on the evidence concerning him,” Miltenberg said.

In her lawsuit, Jane Doe accused the returned student of having sex with her without her consent alongside another fraternity member and later joining other men in snorting ketamine from her body. Details of the allegations remained largely out of public view until she filed the lawsuit, rattling students and faculty. Cornell anthropology professor Noah Tamarkin said students in one of his classes did not think the accused students should return to campus. “The other students in the class are uncomfortable with it,” Tamarkin told the AP.

Cornell’s media relations office said students who complete a suspension and fulfill other sanctions “regain the same rights and responsibilities as their classmates, including eligibility for housing.” Kotlikoff said the decision to allow the student to return was made by the university’s disciplinary panel, not by him.

“It’s something you might disagree with — I may disagree — but we didn’t hear the evidence,” Kotlikoff said. He nevertheless acknowledged the university’s duty to respond to concerns about the student’s presence on campus. “If we didn’t do that, I pledge to look into what happened there,” he said.

Kotlikoff was serving as interim president when the woman reported the assault in 2024. He suspended the fraternity, publicly condemned the behavior of the men involved and convened a task force on sexual assault. But he has faced criticism for not following up with the woman or doing more to push for a criminal investigation or harsher discipline.

Federal privacy law does not categorically prohibit universities from sharing a student’s disciplinary history with housing officials. U.S. Department of Education guidance says the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act allows universities to share student records with school officials who need the information to carry out their responsibilities. The law also allows colleges to disclose some information when a student has been found responsible for violating school rules involving violence, including forcible sexual assault or a nonforcible sex offense.

Kristi Patrickus, an attorney and board member of the Association for Student Conduct Administration, said universities have leeway to restrict campus housing access for students returning from suspension, even if they are allowed to resume classes. Federal privacy protections generally prevent universities from warning roommates about another student’s disciplinary history, she said. “There are not really any exceptions that allow us to tell a roommate, like, ‘Hey, this person is returning from suspension. Be careful,’” Patrickus said. David Karp, director of the Center for Restorative Justice at the University of San Diego, has studied how colleges handle students returning from suspensions for sexual misconduct. He said universities often focus on disciplinary sanctions without adequately addressing the needs of those involved or the broader campus community. “I don’t think it meets people’s needs very well, even if it meets university compliance needs,” Karp said.