Cornell 7 accuser Jane Doe says university presidents response made her feel unsupported
A woman who accused several Cornell students of raping her at a fraternity party says the university’s president questioned why she waited to report the alleged assault, leaving her feeling “unsupported and disbelieved.”The woman’s secondhand account of Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff’s remark, which the university disputes, comes as faculty prepare for a potential vote of no confidence in the Ivy League school’s leadership.The Associated Press on Tuesday obtained a letter she sent to faculty leaders last week.
Her lawyer confirmed its authenticity.The former student’s rape allegations, detailed in a lawsuit last month that identified her only as Jane Doe, have sparked campus protests, renewed scrutiny of Cornell’s disciplinary system and led to the reopening of a criminal investigation of the alleged October 2024 assault.“The letter was sent for informational purposes only,” the woman’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said.“Jane Doe thought it important that the Faculty Senate have this information as it deliberates and considers the resolutions or motions before it.
Jane Doe would ask the Faculty Senate to give her letter whatever weight or credibility it deems appropriate.”In the letter, Jane Doe said her sorority president told her that Kotlikoff questioned why she waited until the following month to report being assaulted.The sorority leader, who spoke with Kotlikoff in November 2024, interpreted his remark as casting doubt on her story.“President Kotlikoff’s initial response was along the lines of, ‘Why did she wait so long to report it?’ ” Jane Doe wrote in the letter.
She said the conversation made her less confident that the administration could handle what happened with the sensitivity and fairness she expected.Cornell’s dean of faculty, however, offered a different account of the conversation.In an email Tuesday to faculty senators and verified by the AP, professor Chris Schaffer said another official who was present ...