Student Reactions to the "Cornell 7" Case
By Olivia Summer
Social media around the country is being flooded with information about the “Cornell 7,” case and college students are demanding justice.
SUNY Purchase students are reeling from the barrage of news about Jane Doe and the “Cornell 7” alleged gang rape and are making their opinions on the matter known to all willing to listen.
“It just breaks my heart,” said senior Reanna Geurdscook. “They all need to be held accountable for their actions.”
This Cornell story gained attention recently when survivor Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit against Cornell University for seemingly ignoring her sexual assault at the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024.
“I have a 17-year-old sister who goes to a school with a large Greek life, and it scares me that this type of thing is still going on,” said Geurdscook.
Cornell punished five of the seven perpetrators by simply making them write an essay. The university expelled the other two students that were involved.
“An essay is the type of punishment I would get when I called someone stupid in elementary school,” said sophomore JonJon Morales. “They’re giving childish punishments to adults who are accused of doing the most reprehensible thing.”
While this story has been taking over the internet the past few weeks, the alleged assault happened two years ago, and when reported to the Title IX office, no action was taken.
“I’ve heard so many stories about people getting assaulted here on campus and Title IX not doing anything about it,” said senior Angelica Valencia-Gonzalez.
Students feel that this story is getting so much traction because of Cornell’s Ivy League status.
“To have something like this come out is a big deal by default, but to come out of a school that people dream about is huge,” said Morales.
“I hope that if anything on this level were to happen, that we would know about it,” said sophomore Syd Riva-Clement. “But so many things get brushed over every single day, and I’m still hearing stories now about things that happened years ago.”
The information in this story is coming out faster than people can keep up, and more people are feeling brave enough to share their stories on social media and beyond.
“There needs to be a systematic change across all universities,” said Geurdscook. “We need to teach consent early and educate; it’s not too hard to understand.”
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