Photo by Will Barkof
By Gabby Buscemi
Allegations of sexual assault involving members of Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity have sparked national debate over campus safety, university accountability, and the consequences for students accused of sexual misconduct.
According to CBS News, the Cornell case began with an October 2024 incident at a Cornell fraternity house, where a former student, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, alleged she was sexually assaulted by multiple men at the fraternity house. The accused men have denied the allegations and no criminal charges have been filed. Cornell conducted its own disciplinary proceedings.
At William Peace University, students offered differing perspectives on how colleges should approach these difficult decisions. Some questioned whether the reported disciplinary consequences were sufficient, while others raised concerns about whether universities hold influential student organizations to the same standards as individual students.
Shontay Dublin, a first-year simulation game design major, suggested that universities may hesitate to hold student organizations accountable for misconduct to avoid damaging their institutional reputations.
“Since it’s a student organization, it would harm the school’s brand, so they don’t treat it the same way,” Dublin said.
Mayken Lynette, a first-year criminal justice major, shared similar concerns.
“Fraternities and other student organizations have connections that individual students do not,” said Lynette. “Universities hesitate to punish these groups because they want to protect their reputation or avoid upsetting donors, which leads to unequal treatment.”
Disciplinary actions at universities can range from requiring students to write an essay to more severe consequences, such as suspension or expulsion. The university’s decision to assign an essay as punishment for the incident has raised questions about whether the consequences were appropriate.
“I think if the university wants to use an essay, that’s okay, but there should definitely be more extreme consequences because writing an essay doesn’t solve anything,” said Nolan Snyder, a first-year business analytics major who plays volleyball.
Similarly, Charlie Burke, a first-year business administration major who plays men’s soccer, believed the punishment didn’t reflect the seriousness of the incident.
“They should have been given a punishment that was more fitting for what happened than just writing an essay,” said Burke.
Elena Ramirez, a first-year psychology major who plays women’s soccer, also questioned whether the reported consequences were sufficient.
“I honestly think that it should have been more, and the university should have cared more,” Ramirez said.
“I don’t think the essay alone was a good punishment for someone that was found responsible for sexual assault,” Lynette said. “Each person’s punishment should match what a fair investigation found they did.”
Although the students expressed concerns about the severity of the reported punishments, they also highlighted the importance of determining what happened before deciding on consequences.
After learning about newer developments in the case, including additional details that complicated the initial accounts of the incident and allegations against the fraternity men, Snyder questioned whether the reported disciplinary measures were fair and whether the situation had been fully understood before consequences were determined.
Burke similarly acknowledged the need to consider the evidence before determining whether a punishment is justified.
“If they were wrongly accused, then maybe the essay was fitting,” Burke said.
The discussion also extended beyond the disciplinary decisions to the effect sexual misconduct allegations can have on students’ perceptions of campus safety.
Ramirez said incidents associated with college social events can make students hesitant to participate in campus life.
“I think it can really like make someone nervous to go to events and stuff,” Ramirez said.
Beyond the potential effect on students’ willingness to attend campus events, Lynette said universities could take additional steps to help students feel safer and more comfortable reporting sexual misconduct.
“I think universities should make it easier to report sexual misconduct and get help,” Lynette said. “Schools should take every report seriously and treat everyone fairly, no matter who they know.”
For Burke and Lynette, maintaining student trust also depends on how universities communicate about misconduct cases.
“I’d rather go to a school that’s honest about something that happened than try to cover it up to make themselves look better,” Burke said.
“If they feel the school cares more about its reputation than student safety, they may be afraid to report things,” Lynette said.
While Burke and Lynette emphasized the importance of universities being honest about misconduct cases, Snyder highlighted the need to balance transparency with protecting the privacy of students involved.
“I think it should be known that it happened, but based on the situation, I don’t always think it’s okay to release the names of the students involved until everything is completely confirmed,” Snyder said.
When asked how universities could improve campus safety, many students emphasized the importance of taking preventative measures.
“I guess just have more of a surveillance on things dealing with that aspect,” Burke said.