Beginning in 2017, The Sophie Fund repeatedly warned Cornell University administrators about the need for robust new policies to end the cycle of sexual assault on their campus. We pointed to Cornell’s own student survey statistics that amply demonstrated their failure to curb the school’s persistent prevalence of sexual violence.

Cornell University administration headquarters

On September 14, a former student sued Cornell, alleging that she was gang raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house on the Cornell campus in 2024. The lawsuit, which also seeks a jury trial for seven men accused of committing “heinous criminal sexual acts,” argues that Cornell breached its duty to protect her from foreseeable dangers. On September 28, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced he would reopen a criminal investigation into the allegations.

Specifically, the civil lawsuit accuses Cornell of:

“Failure to protect Plaintiff from a known danger; failure to have sufficient policies and procedures in place to prevent sex abuse and assault being committed by any of their students; failure to properly implement policies and procedures to prevent sex abuse and assault; failure to take reasonable measures to ensure that policies and procedures to prevent sex abuse and assault were working; failure to investigate risks of sexual assault; failure to properly train the employees at their facilities; failed [sic] to have any outside agency test their safety procedures; and failure to train its employees properly to identify signs of sexual abuse and sexual assault.”

The lawsuit’s narrative echoes the lack of transparency and failure of accountability that The Sophie Fund has witnessed in the Cornell administration’s handling of student mental health. 

The Sophie Fund strongly advocated for a task force to comprehensively review Cornell’s mental health policies and practices and make recommendations for improvement.

In an April 2017 letter asking then-President Martha Pollack to appoint a task force, we noted:

“[Cornell’s] failure to develop a policy and strategy that addresses the disturbing mental health-related problem of sexual violence against Cornell students and provides effective support for victims of sexual violence.”

—“A lack of institutional accountability for Cornell’s mental health policies, programs, and practices.”

—“An institutional mindset reflecting complacency and defensiveness that appears to prioritize Cornell’s public image over the welfare of students struggling with mental disorders.”

—“A system of accountability would include a zero-tolerance program with robust measures to fight against rape and sexual violence, and hazing, and equally robust legal and psychological support services for victims.”

—“31.6 percent—nearly 1 in 3—reported being victims of rape or sexual battery during their years in college; 9.8 percent of undergraduate female students participating in a recent campus climate survey reported having been the victims of rape or attempted rape since enrolling at Cornell.”

Pollack finally commissioned a Mental Health Review task force in 2018, and the task force issued its report with recommendations in 2020.

A year ago this week, The Sophie Fund published a blog post about current Cornell President Kotlikoff’s refusal of its request to inform the Cornell and Ithaca communities about the outcome of those recommendations. Kotlikoff was interim president at the time of the alleged gang rape in October 2024; Pollack had abruptly resigned her post effective June 30 of that year.

In a presentation to the Mental Health Review task force in 2019, The Sophie Fund urged:

“The review teams should consider recommendations aimed at forcefully ending the cycle of sexual assault and hazing violence in the Cornell community and ensuring the maximum mental health support for victims at risk of life-long psychological disorders as a result of their trauma.”

 In a 2020 presentation to the task force, The Sophie Fund called on Cornell leadership to “develop new and effective strategies to combat the serious problems of sexual assault and hazing within its student body.”

The presentation added:

“Research indicates that victims of sexual assault and hazing are at risk of life-long mental health problems. Data indicates that the prevalence of sexual assault and hazing at Cornell has reached levels that no civilized institution should accept. Past and present strategies have failed to eliminate or even reduce the problems. To allow these problems to continue without a robust and effective response is a serious abrogation of responsibility.”

Among some 130 recommendations, the Mental Health Review report encouraged the Cornell administration to continue what it endorsed to be the university’s unspecified “substantive reforms”—at the time—to address sexual assault and “usher in positive changes that will provide a safer environment for students.”

In The Sophie Fund’s post-report presentation in 2021 to the Cornell Executive Accountability Committee then charged with implementing recommendations but since disbanded, The Sophie Fund urged Cornell to:

“Introduce new zero-tolerance university regulations and implement robust new campus education and awareness programs with the publicly stated goal of terminating the stubborn normalization of sexual assault and hazing violence among Cornell students, in recognition that previous initiatives have failed to stem student sexual violence or end the destructive hazing culture; ensure that perpetrators of violence, intimidation, and criminal recklessness are held strictly accountable under university regulations, and ensure perpetrators are also held accountable under applicable local, state, and federal laws; mandate the vice president for Student & Campus Life to issue annual reports on steps addressing sexual assault and hazing violence, the results of those efforts, and identifying necessary further steps to be taken.”

In April 2025, after waiting for Cornell to honor its stated commitment to inform the Cornell and Ithaca communities about the implementation of the task force’s recommendations, we wrote to President Kotlikoff asking him to issue a report detailing the results of the implementation work.

We wrote: 

“Transparently fulfilling a commitment to hold itself accountable will enhance confidence and respect in how Cornell is supporting its students’ well-being and acting as a responsible and valued part of the greater community.”

Kotlikoff rejected our request, arguing that the Cornell administration had moved on from the 2020 recommendations in favor of a “Health Promoting Campus initiative.”

* * * * *

On September 24, The Sophie Fund requested information on the Chi Phi gang rape investigation from relevant campus and community authorities. Here are our questions and their responses.

Kyle Kimball, Cornell University Vice President for Community Relations (No response to The Sophie Fund as of September 29; Kimball issued a statement on September 21 and a statement on September 28)

1. What is Cornell’s response to the allegations contained in the lawsuit?

2. After “Jane Doe” reported the gang rape to the Cornell University Police Department on or about November 8, 2024, what actions has Cornell taken from November 8, 2024 to date in response to her allegations, specifically:

2a. To investigate the allegations?

2b. To address the alleged perpetrators and their alleged actions?

2c. To address the alleged behavior of the Xi Chapter of Chi Phi Fraternity?

3. What is the current status and/or outcome of Cornell’s actions related to the above 2a, 2b, and 2c questions?

4. Can you provide the number of sexual violence incidents reported to Cornell authorities in the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026?

5. Does Cornell assure Cornell students that actions such as alleged in the gang rape lawsuit will not occur in the future?

6. What steps has Cornell taken in the aftermath of the alleged gang rape at the Xi Chapter of Chi Phi Fraternity to ensure that sexual violence include rape will no longer occur at Cornell?

Eric Stickel, Chief of the Cornell University Police Department (No response to The Sophie Fund as of September 29)

1. What steps has the Cornell Police Department taken to investigate the alleged gang rape reported by a Cornell undergraduate student to the Cornell University Police Department on or about November 8, 2024?

2. What is the current status and/or outcome of any steps the Cornell Police Department has taken to investigate the alleged gang rape?

3. Can you provide the number of sexual violence incidents reported to the Cornell Police Department in the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026?

Katie King, Assistant Vice President, Cornell Office of Civil Rights (No response to The Sophie Fund as of September 29)

1. What were the findings of the Office of Civil Rights’ investigation?

2. What conclusions or recommendations did the Office of Civil Rights make based on its investigation?

3. What actions were taken by the university in response to the investigation by the Office of Civil Rights?

4. Why has the Formal Complaints page of the Office of Civil Rights not been updated for the 2024-2025 or 2025-2026 academic years when the outcome of this case would have been recorded?

Thomas J. Kelly, Chief of Ithaca Police Department (No response to The Sophie Fund as of September 29; IPD issued a statement on Facebook on September 28)

1. Was the alleged gang rape reported to the Ithaca Police Department; and if so, when, and by whom?

2. What specific steps if any has the Ithaca Police Department taken to investigate the alleged gang rape?

3. What is the current status and/or outcome of any steps the Ithaca Police Department has taken to investigate the alleged gang rape?

4. Can you provide the number of sexual violence incidents involving Cornell University students reported directly to the Ithaca Police Department in the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026?

Matthew Van Houten, Tompkins County District Attorney (Van Houten provided a statement on September 28)

1. It is reported in the media that the “Tompkins County District Attorney said his office ‘conducted a thorough review of the police investigation,’ but ‘there was insufficient evidence to support criminal charges.’ Is this statement attributed to the District Attorney correct?

2. The new civil lawsuit contains a significant amount of detail regarding the alleged gang rape—including the names of the alleged perpetrators and their specific alleged acts, and a screenshot of a text message inviting fraternity members to join the alleged sexual assault. If it is correct that the District Attorney reviewed the Ithaca Police Department’s investigation, can you explain what was lacking in its available evidence that prompted the District Attorney’s decision not to bring criminal charges against any of the defendants identified in the new civil lawsuit? Put another way, what evidence from the investigating police department would be required for the District Attorney to bring charges following the alleged victim’s sexual assault police report?

3. The lawsuit also states that “the matter is also still being investigated by the Ithaca Police Department.” If this is correct, and in light of the details of the alleged rape contained in the new lawsuit, has or will the District Attorney’s office reopen its review of the matter?

—By Scott MacLeod and Susan Hack

Scott MacLeod and Susan Hack are co-founders of The Sophie Fund, established in memory of their daughter Sophie, who died by suicide in Ithaca in 2016 during a health leave of absence from Cornell.