by Kaelynd Brouillette ’29 on October 8, 2026
Opinion
I am Jane Doe. Thousands upon thousands of women on the internet are Jane Doe. Of course, we are not all the Jane Doe who is a victim of gang rape, the Jane Doe who is traumatized for life, and the Jane Doe whose dignity was ripped from her shaky hands as Cornell University tried to sweep it under the rug. But a sexual assault victim does not fit under a rug without leaving a massive, questionable lump of injustice, does it, Cornell? In the last few weeks, you have most likely seen this phenomenon on social media. Women across the globe are standing in solidarity by claiming to be Jane Doe from Cornell to prevent the victim’s true identity from being revealed.. In the investigation of a sexual assault case, the parties involved typically value keeping their identities out of the hands of the public to prevent their trauma from becoming a spectacle for others to critique and denounce. I really hate that I just had to use the word “typically” when referring to rape, but that’s an important topic for a different time. I believe the Cornell 7 and the Jane Doe phenomenon may be the beginning of a new campus movement, where students and survivors use social media to expose the gap between what universities say about sexual violence and what they actually do when faced with a situation that calls for justice, potentially at the expense of institutional reputation.
To be clear, I am not here to argue the specifics of this case, but I’d like to give a brief overview for those of you who aren’t up to date on what’s going on. On Oct. 19, 2024, Jane Doe left a bar she was at to visit a friend at the Chi Phi fraternity house. She was visibly intoxicated, but agreed to a threesome with her friend and another Chi Phi brother. The two men allegedly pressured Jane Doe into snorting a substance they described as ketamine, then sexually assaulted her while she was unable to consent. Later, one of the aggressors messaged in a group chat stating there was “free” sex upstairs, where Doe was then sexually assaulted by a total of seven men, who gained the name the “Cornell 7.” On Nov. 14 of the same year, Jane Doe made a formal statement to campus police, who asked the Tompkins County District Attorney’s office to review the case. Prosecutors ultimately decided not to file charges, and the alleged aggressors were either expelled, temporarily suspended, or assigned an essay to “protect the immediate physical health and safety of all students.” On Sept. 16, Doe filed a civil lawsuit against Cornell, the Chi Phi chapter, her sorority, and the seven men who allegedly drugged and raped her. I’d like to draw your attention back to the part where I said the aggressors were either “temporarily suspended” or “assigned an essay.” Crazy, right? You would think if you allegedly participated in gang rape, you’d be reprimanded for your actions more than that, no? I believe Cornell has failed to deliver proper justice to Jane Doe, which raises the question: what happens when an institution responsible for protecting its students becomes part of the story, and furthermore, on the wrong side of the story?
Universities have incentives to act or not to act. Cornell had an incentive not to let Jane Doe’s allegations become public, as a university has a lot to lose when it admits sexual violence occurred, especially a well-regarded Ivy League school. Universities have to potentially face damage to their reputation, admissions, Greek life, etc., which, obviously, is not favorable. If I were the president of a university that was dealing with a big sexual assault case, I would not want that to be public knowledge either. But where Michael Kotlikoff, president of Cornell, and I differ is that I would not go insofar as to fail to deliver justice to a victim to protect my reputation. When a victim is failed by a university, they lose their social life, their friends, their fraternity/sorority, and their entire college experience. I’m not saying that universities protect rapists, but I’m not not saying that universities protect rapists. Cornell said it conducted a substantial investigation, including dozens of interviews and hearings, and that students were expelled, suspended, or assigned sexual assault education work. Cornell “handled it,” but Jane Doe did not get the justice she deserves. Now that this case has become well known, I believe the people of social media will not put it to rest until Jane Doe is given her dignity back.
Social media has played an absolutely massive role in the uprising of this movement in solidarity with Jane Doe by preventing the university from being the sole narrator of what happened. Historically, the student goes to the university, which then conducts an investigation, allowing them to fully dictate the information surrounding the case to protect themselves and their image. This is not the pattern that is playing out today. Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against Cornell and her aggressors, where students can then take it to social media, and journalists can publish information to the public about the investigation on major news platforms. Now, Cornell does not get to solely decide what happened to Jane Doe. The public can make their own informed perceptions, and the school is put in a position where they need to respond. Cornell lost control, and now they must endure the consequences of their actions, or lack of actions, technically. Social media is not usually a place that comes together as one body to support a cause, but this is different. Sure, there are still ignorant individuals who believe the 57 boys in the group chat did absolutely nothing wrong, but from my perspective, Jane Doe’s courage to file a lawsuit has allowed social media to be a place where accountability is demanded and nothing less than justice is stood for. Social media rhetoric surrounding Jane Doe has allowed old allegations to resurface, institutional narratives to be challenged, documents to circulate, journalists to receive information, and students at universities to recognize similar patterns. That is truly a powerful thing. This new movement is no longer just about believing the victims, as it was with the #MeToo movement, but about emphasizing the idea that universities cannot make rape disappear, and must take accountability for their failures.
There’s an “acceptable” rape victim. That victim is one who was completely sober, remembers every detail of what happened, clearly said the word “no” multiple times, immediately reported the incident, and never said anything that could be screenshotted out of context. This victim is almost completely hypothetical. Jane Doe is not this victim, and the majority of sexual assault survivors are not this victim. Jane Doe was intoxicated, had consensual sex prior, and was messaging with one of the aggressors after the incident. This does not mean she was not raped. The question we should be asking is not whether she acted as some perfect, undeniable victim, but rather whether her consent was violated and whether she was in the proper space to even consent. A majority of the backlash against Jane Doe on social media is arguing that, because she is not this perfect victim, her allegations are false. This idea is incredibly dangerous and hinders women from having the courage to speak up about their experiences in fear of being scrutinized for acting in a way that blurs the lines between consent and rape. The framework and stigma of the perfect victim must be ended immediately, and institutions must recognize that sexual assault is not cut and dry.
Hey, Providence College. Rape happens here too. We are not immune to the conditions that make sexual violence possible. In 2025, three reported incidents of rape happened in on-campus housing, and a total of 14 incidents of sexual offense occurred in on-campus housing since 2023. What I would like to know is how many incidents of sexual assault happen on our campus that do not get reported. I would like PC to conduct a survey on sexual assault both on campus and off campus. PC should conduct this survey for every single undergraduate student, make it completely anonymous, and release the data to the public. I also ask for PC to share the data on what punishments were given to those who were found guilty of rape on our campus. We deserve to know what happens on our campus, and whether administration is just “handling it” or providing true justice to victims. The Cornell 7 are not the first, and they will not be the last.