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Campus data shows Cornell rarely expelled students it held liable for sexual assault
A review of Cornell data from mid-2020 to mid-2024 found 51 sexual assault complaints and only two expulsions among 16 students held responsible.
The Ivy League school is under new scrutiny for how it punished students it held liable for sexual assault before Jane Doe's Chi Phi case.
What the records show
CNN reviewed university data covering mid-2020 through mid-2024. The review counted 51 formal sexual assault complaints in that window. Jane Doe says she was assaulted in October 2024.
The review says the school held students liable in 16 of those 51 matters. Only two were expelled. Nearly half of the students held responsible received written reprimands or extra study programs with no suspension or expulsion.
One complainant's reaction
Kacey Lee told CNN she felt betrayed when the student found responsible for assaulting her was neither suspended nor expelled. She said going through the process for what felt like an illusion of accountability made things worse.
How that compares with the Jane Doe panel
Two of the seven students Doe accused were expelled. Two were suspended. One graduate was locked out of campus for three years. The other two were assigned directed study and reflection papers.
No one has been charged with a crime in Doe's case.
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