Cornell gang rape case: motion of no confidence passed against university leaders

The faculty of the American University Cornell, shaken by an accusation of gang rape against a student, adopted a motion of no confidence on Friday denouncing the management of sexual violence by the leaders of the prestigious establishment. The teachers' representatives within the university senate do not have the power to dismiss administrators but their vote constitutes a severe repudiation for the president of the establishment, Michael Kotlikoff, directly implicated by this young woman.

The resolution questions "the ability of central administration to effectively address the ongoing sexual assault crisis at Cornell University." At the end of a week of electronic voting, seventy-five of the teacher representatives voted in favor of this resolution, fifty voted against and five abstained, according to official figures posted on the Cornell website.

The affair broke out last September, when the former student took legal action in civil court for events that occurred in 2024. She says she was raped at the age of 20 by seven student members of a fraternity (a male student association), while she had consumed alcohol and ketamine, a powerful anesthetic.

In a letter to faculty representatives, she criticized Michael Kotlikoff for his lack of support. The sanctions imposed on the alleged attackers, ranging from suspension to expulsion, were also considered insufficient by some observers. An independent external investigation examines the management of the file by the establishment, entrusted to Sally Yates, former deputy attorney general of the United States, second highest position within the Department of Justice.

The case also sparked strong criticism of prosecutors who did not initiate any prosecution in 2024, despite an initial complaint, believing they did not have sufficient evidence. A criminal investigation has since been reopened within the office of New York State Attorney Letitia James, entrusted to a former federal prosecutor involved in particular in the investigation into sexual violence against rapper P. Diddy, Jacqueline Kelly.

The revelations sparked a wave of outrage on campus and beyond, with many seeing it as a symbol of a misogynistic and violent culture linked to fraternities that too often goes unpunished. According to a study published in 2020 by the Association of American Universities and covering 33 establishments, a quarter of female bachelor's degree equivalent students indicated that they had been victims of forced sexual contact or without the possibility of consent.