‘One of the most difficult weeks in our history’: Cornell president vows to do better after frat house rape allegations

Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff breaks his silence on the mounting criticism over the university’s handling of a former student’s allegations that she was drugged and gang-raped at a fraternity house in 2024, saying the administration and university community “must do better.”

In an eight-minute video message posted Saturday, October 3, Kotlikoff, who is with the institution for past 26 years, described the past week as “one of the most difficult weeks in our history” and said the case had raised serious questions about sexual assault, party culture and the investigations that followed.

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


“I believe we as an administration and we as a community must do better,” he continued.

Also Read: Cornell edits FAQ on 2024 Chi Phi sexual assault allegations, removes claim police shared ‘all’ information

Kotlikoff said the university must learn from the controversy and work to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“We must do everything we can to prevent what happened to Jane Doe and everyone before her and anyone after her from ever happening again.”

The comments came after former student Jane Doe filed a lawsuit last month against Cornell and seven men. She alleges that she was drugged and raped in October 2024 at the university’s Chi Phi fraternity house when she was 20 years old.

The allegations did not result in criminal charges. In 2024, the Tompkins County district attorney concluded that “there was insufficient evidence to support criminal charges.”

But questions about how the case was investigated have intensified later. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said he was not provided the full transcript of Doe’s two-day interview with Cornell police in November 2024, roughly three weeks after the alleged incident.

Instead, prosecutors received a six-page sworn statement based on the interview, according to Van Houten.

Cornell had initially said its police department provided the results of its Title IX investigation to the district attorney. However, an FAQ updated by the university on Oct. 1 said it had “shared the victim's sworn statement and the Snapchat screenshot with the Tompkins County District Attorney's Office, which is the established protocol if the department believes it is possible a crime has occurred.”