Cornell officials said they would review how a disciplinary panel’s decision allowed a suspended student disciplined in a sexual-assault case to return to campus and be housed in a co-ed dorm.
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Cornell University is facing questions about how housing was handled after one of seven students disciplined in connection with an alleged 2024 gang rape at a fraternity house returned to campus this fall following a three-semester suspension and was placed in a co-ed dorm.
Psychology professor Corinna Loeckenhoff, speaking at a Faculty Senate meeting on Oct. 14, said Cornell housing officials left the accused student in a shared room for two weeks after the woman who made the allegation filed a lawsuit in September, which publicly accused him of rape.
Loeckenhoff told Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff at that meeting that the arrangement was a “clear security risk,” adding that Cornell’s own records show that, at minimum, he admitted to taking drugs and having sex with an intoxicated person. She said housing services had “no clue” until the roommate contacted them and asked for a room change.
In response to questions, Cornell said it would examine how the dorm room situation was handled, including whether concerns were raised with housing or other offices and whether appropriate accommodations were provided.
The woman, identified in court papers by the pseudonym Jane Doe, sued Cornell and the seven men last month. She alleges she was given ketamine and raped at a fraternity house in 2024. All seven men deny the allegations, saying either the sex was consensual or they were not involved.
The case, which initially involved a local district attorney decision that no crime had been committed, has since been reopened and handed to New York’s attorney general.
Cornell disciplined several members of the Chi Phi fraternity after a monthslong Title IX investigation. According to the university’s records, two students were expelled, two received suspensions and probation, and two were required to complete “reflection” papers and bystander training. A seventh man had already graduated and was barred from campus.
One of the expelled students later enrolled at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. Cornell said it was unaware of the allegations when it admitted the student and acted immediately after learning of them, declining to say what action it took or whether he remains enrolled, citing federal student privacy laws.
Cornell’s media relations office said that students who complete a suspension and fulfill other sanctions “regain the same rights and responsibilities as their classmates, including eligibility for housing.”
Loeckenhoff raised her concerns during the Faculty Senate debate over whether to pass a resolution expressing no confidence in Kotlikoff’s leadership. She declined to elaborate on her remarks, citing student privacy concerns.
Kotlikoff said at the meeting that the decision to allow the student to return to campus was made by the university’s disciplinary panel, not him. He said, “If we didn’t do that, I pledge to look into what happened there,” while acknowledging that the decision was something faculty members might disagree with because they may not have heard the evidence.
A student attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, said the student maintains the encounter was consensual and cautioned against treating all seven accused students as equally responsible, saying each person should be judged based on evidence concerning him.
In her lawsuit, Jane Doe accused the 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 became more widely known publicly after the lawsuit was filed in September, and Cornell students shared the accused student’s name and dorm location on social media.
The dispute also raised questions about what universities can share with housing officials under federal privacy rules. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act guidance allows schools to share student records with school officials who need the information to carry out their responsibilities, including in cases involving certain violations. However, privacy protections generally limit warning roommates about a student’s disciplinary history.
An attorney and board member of the Association for Student Conduct Administration, Kristi Patrickus, said there are “not really any exceptions that allow us to tell a roommate” about a returning student’s suspension. David Karp, director of the Center for Restorative Justice at the University of San Diego, said colleges often focus on compliance with disciplinary sanctions rather than adequately addressing needs of those involved and the broader campus community.
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