We’ve all heard the news: “Cornell student raped by seven men.” “Rapists punished via essays.” “Jane Doe says it was consensual.” “Jane Doe lied.” But the question is, what is true? Both crime and justice aren’t black and white, so neither should our thinking be. After the Cornell Daily Sun broke the “Cornell Seven” story two years after the alleged rape – seeing as Jane Doe is filing a civil suit – everyone has something to say about it, even our own student body.
But let’s get the storyline of information released as straight as possible: at first, most people’s understanding was that Jane Doe was raped for seven hours straight by seven of her peers, who were members of the fraternity Chi Phi, emphasizing that she could not consent as she was under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, and ketamine. The outrage was that only two of the seven boys were expelled, two were suspended, and that the rest had to write an essay with no further repercussions, the same way a child would write “I’m sorry” 20 times on a piece of paper for drawing on the walls. Additionally, there was a group chat – which multiple news sources have released screenshots of – filled with 57 other male students who were aware of the assault(s) and were even invited to join in on said rapings.
But there’s another side to the coin: text messages between Jane Doe and male participants showed that, while Jane Doe admitted that she was heavily intoxicated and on high amounts of ketamine, at first she initially says it was also consensual. Looking at a series of text threads that date Oct. 21 2024 there is a clear difference in the two stories. In a text message to Jonathan Newell Jane Doe texts, “At the end of the day non of the sexual stuff was illegal and honestly i really liked being w u and [MALE 1]. So anything anyone has to say about the gamgbang is so out of their jurisdiction. I don’t think we should feel any shame for the part. Our body our choice.” And also said, “While it may have been nice for like only 4 people to have been around, yall were both super out of it and they should have taken it on themselves to leave, at the end of the day you, [MALE 1], and i were in your bed and they didn’t need to get up in that.” However later that same day texting with her sorority sister she texts, “let’s be clear that 90% of what happened that night was not consensual. i was given more key than i can remember and i know that i told you i felt uncomfortable and i didn’t know anyone in the room. all i remember after that was u giving me ket to do off your d[-] in front of everyone like a sex doll/worker.” So, was she raped? Is she lying? We are sadly not privy to that information yet, but of course, with news comes opinions and speculation.
This case affects both the female and male population when it comes to the general discussion of rape and false accusations. With the spew of evidence being released, it’s hard to tell what is right and wrong, and so we’re forced to come up with conclusions – something that is wired into our brains as humans – that even we ourselves aren’t entirely sure about.
Now, bringing the case onto campus and into discussion, it is evident that there are many different viewpoints and perspectives. With the hold social media has on our society and the flood of content that can be released anytime, anywhere, it can be hard to distinguish the “truth” of a story. When speaking to students around campus, most of the news they receive comes from apps such as Instagram and TikTok. However, there is also another side to the increase in social media. Now, more than ever, there is an uptick in awareness. It begs the question: in this case, considering the constantly changing facts, who’s to say that we’re on the right side?
As a community, students were mostly appalled by the screenshots from the group chats and text threads passed around. Online, you can see conversations from members of the fraternity texting in a Snapchat group chat labeled “Chi Phi Actives,” which explicitly had the statements: “Free p***y in alum pull up” with members replying “I f******g love Chi Phi” and “Like you can walk in and whip it out.”
For junior Julia Anastasio-Villa she was especially taken back by these comments. “A human,” she started, “she’s a human being, and how dehumanizing it is to describe someone in such a [manner].”
The outbreak of the case being posted online not only negatively impacts what is released, but also what is said in comments. This has gone so far that you can no longer search “Cornell 7” on TikTok – it’s blocked; instead, you have to purposefully misspell the phrase in order for results to appear. Some of the outrageous comments include “Innocent 7” and “Everything happens for a reason. This is just a minor setback for her.” Junior Hudson Walters had his own input based on seeing these. “Trolls on the internet are always gonna glorify people who do bad things,” he said.
Even looking at the name “Cornell Seven,” the way it’s phrased can suggest a positive connotation. It makes it seem as though they did something heroic and great honor. There are so many word choices that could have been used, yet the media still chooses to phrase it in this way as if they’re the Avengers.
For junior Emma Davis, what we did as a society when naming it was the most astonishing aspect. “It’s not even that it’s just sexual assault,” Emma began. “This was rape. This was rape for seven plus hours, and not one of those 57 boys who knew about it spoke up; not one called for help, not one told another. Not one went to that room and helped this girl.” She became invested in the case, constantly searching for new updates released and added. Unlike her peers, who may have just seen and based their information on social media, Emma made sure her knowledge of the case was thoroughly researched based on what was available to the public eye, which is made evident from her passionate perspective.
Looking at resolutions and consequences regarding the rape, many KO students felt very strongly about the topic. Freshman Derek Nguyen remains shocked at the apparent “discipline.” “What happened is completely bizarre and unacceptable,” he said, “and I think that their punishment should have been more severe because really they’re not learning anything from that experience.”
Many other students also can’t fathom the concept that only seven out of the 57 in the group chat were given penalties. Being a bystander and letting something like that happen is harmful on its own. “It’s the 57 men in the group chat who knew exactly what was going on and said absolutely nothing,” Emma said.
With the influx of information from various perspectives, there is some debate both online and on our campus to be taken into account. “It sounds to me that she consensually took the ketamine and the alcohol,” a junior boy said. “She consensually said yes, and it seems she just changed her mind two years later because it looks bad.”
Comparatively, some other students are still open to the other stance, reluctant to pick a side. “Maybe she could have forgotten it,” junior Ansh Buduguru said, “and maybe she was just making up something on the spot where she didn’t really know the full story.” It is clear that with a case as active and fresh as this, there are a multitude of stances within our student body.
In the U.S. Courts, we have the phrase “innocent until proven guilty,” and while we, Hunter and Racheal, choose to believe the victim, especially in cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape, it is important to be open-minded when it comes to not just this case, but all accusations. Human beings are stubborn creatures, and once we formulate our beliefs, it is hard to uproot and adjust them. Contrastingly, it is also important to educate ourselves and pick a side; don’t immediately change your thoughts because you’ve been provided with one piece of counter-evidence.
In recent weeks there have been legal updates regarding Cornell. As of Oct. 14, 2026, Jane Doe wrote in a letter to the faculty senate stating that as a student she felt “unsupported” and “unbelieved” by the university’s president. The timing of the letter was also something to take note of–the letter was sent two weeks before the Faculty Senate along with other Cornell faculty meeting to debate the no-confidence resolution on Oct. 28 which will go in effect through Nov. 6.
This case is unfortunately one of millions related to sexual assault, and it is important to take it slow and rationally. Don’t send death threats to a random guy who happens to have the same name and race as the suspect – which did happen to a man named Winston Lee – but also don’t sit on the sidelines for too long; otherwise, you may just turn into one of those 57 bystanders who saw something and looked the other way.
While nothing is set in stone quite yet and the judgment is to be dictated by the judicial system, we believe as people, and as part of our core values and human integrity, it is crucial to take sexual assault and rape cases seriously and report them. Cases such as these happen more frequently than we think, and it is upon us to decide what we do with them. Speaking about issues like these is difficult, but nothing is comparable to the damage done by society from dismissing these incidents. Speaking out enables us to learn from the mistakes we have made as humans, and it’s key to leave this world better than how we found it; after all, what if that victim eventually becomes you?
