In short:
Cornell University's Faculty Senate has approved a resolution declaring "no confidence" in the school's top leaders.
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Senate → approve → leaders
The ruling comes in the wake of a former student's lawsuit saying she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity party in 2024.
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she → come → 2024
The vote followed weeks of debate among professors over whether Cornell's President handled the woman's allegations properly
Cornell University's Faculty Senate has approved a resolution declaring "no confidence" in the institution's top leaders.
The symbolic gesture, voted on Friday, local time, reflects a deep discontent on campus in the wake of a former student's lawsuit saying she was gang raped at a fraternity party in 2024.
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she → follow → 2024
The resolution passed 75-50, with five faculty senators abstaining and five others not voting, according to an email sent to members of the Faculty Senate.
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others → pass → Senate
The vote followed weeks of debate among professors over whether Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff and other administrators handled the woman's allegations properly and whether they've done enough to curtail sexual misconduct at the prestigious university.
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they → follow → university
While the faculty body has no power over the university's top leaders, backers of the resolution had said they hoped it would pressure Cornell's trustees to urgently address what they viewed as longstanding institutional failures.
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they → have → failures
Voting took place electronically over more than a week, with the results released Friday, local time.
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results → take → week
The Cornell community has been in a state of distress and dismay since mid-September, when a former student filed a lawsuit against the university and seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity, saying she was given ketamine and raped at a fraternity house in October 2024.
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she → file → October
All of those men have denied her allegations, saying either the sex was consensual or they weren't involved.
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they → deny → allegations
The local district attorney initially decided the woman had consented to the encounter, and that no crime had been committed, but the investigation has since been reopened and handed to New York's attorney-general.
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investigation → decide → general
Cornell disciplined several of the accused students following a month-long Title IX investigation.
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Cornell → discipline → investigation
Two were expelled, two received suspensions and probation, and two were required to write "reflection" papers and complete bystander training.
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two → expel → training
A seventh man had already graduated and was barred from campus, according to records obtained by The New York Times.
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man → graduate → Times
Mr Kotlikoff also convened a task force to study the problem of sexual misconduct on campus, which released certain recommendations.
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which → convene → recommendations
Some faculty members have been furious with Mr Kotlikoff for not acting more forcefully to strengthen the school's disciplinary process, push for criminal investigations and change campus party culture.
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members → act → culture
Paul Ortiz, a labour history professor who co-sponsored the no-confidence resolution
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who → co → resolution
, said last week that hundreds of students, staff, alumni and faculty approached the resolution's sponsors to emphasise that "the Jane Doe case is but a tip of the iceberg" and that "a veritable fortress of silence has been breached" around sexual violence since the resolution's introduction.
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fortress → say → introduction
Speaking to Faculty Senate members on the first day that they debated the no-confidence resolution, Mr Kotlikoff pledged to make the university a leader in addressing the problem of sexual assault, and he asked that he be given the time to make more changes.
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he → speak → changes
Mr Kotlikoff defended his leadership , arguing that replacing him would do little to solve complex problems and could damage Cornell's reputation.
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replacing → defend → reputation
He acknowledged he had not read the campus police report, explaining that university policy barred top administrators from interfering in criminal investigations.
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policy → acknowledge → investigations
He also rejected suggestions that he had been indifferent to the woman's case, though he acknowledged he had not known until recently that she had left Cornell.
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she → reject → Cornell
Mr Kotlikoff said the university needed to determine whether fraternities could operate safely and left open the possibility of sweeping restrictions on fraternity life.
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fraternities → say → life
He urged faculty to give him time to make changes, arguing that decisions should be based on research and evidence rather than emotion.
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decisions → urge → emotion
Some professors also urged patience and said faculty should wait until the release of an independent investigation by former US Deputy Attorney-General Sally Yates, whom the university hired to examine both how Cornell responded to the woman's initial rape report in 2024 and its overall procedures for handling similar reports from other students.
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Cornell → urge → students
The no-confidence resolution did not call for Mr Kotlikoff's resignation.
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resolution → call → resignation
The Aporia
