A 'dark cloud' and 'dismal' mood: How it feels on Cornell campus right now

ByNada Tawfik, New York correspondent at Cornell University and Sakshi Venkatraman.

Key points

• As special prosecutor in the case, shortly after Thursday's student assembly at Cornell, New York Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed she had appointed the state attorney general, Letitia James.
• As rumours began spreading regarding Jane Doe, one fourth-year student recalled that it had been hard to live there in 2024, in the aftermath of the incident.
• The upcoming "Justice for Survivors" protest, planned at the university for 5 October, is being advertised in flyers all over campus.
• More than 1, 300 graduates have signed a letter calling on the university to take "swift and expansive" action after the allegations came back to light.
• A chapter of the fraternity was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.

Under normal circumstances, Cornell University is a beautiful place to study at this time of year. Autumn leaves bring pops of colour to its stately buildings. It are set against the backdrop of the rolling hills of upstate New York.

But students and faculty members say the investigation into an alleged gang rape that took place on these grounds two years ago has cast a "dark cloud" over the campus – stirring anger, concern over fraternity culture, and a backlash against the university's handling of the situation.

Students and staff at the Ivy League university spoke to the BBC, some on condition of anonymity, saying the tension on campus had become palpable since the 2024 case resurfaced in recent weeks.

At a student assembly on Thursday. It was organised to allow students to voice their reservations, numerous pressed drastic change at the university.

Others labelled the perceived lack of justice a "disgrace" and remarked they felt ashamed of the prestigious university. It has defended its handling of the case.

"We deserve to know that our institution values our safety more than its reputation, " undergraduate Sophia Riley Sim informed those at the gathering.

Sim remarked she had been too upset by the case to attend classes for the past week.

In practice, the accuser at the centre of the alleged gang rape, known anonymously as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit against Cornell on 16 September, saying she was drugged and raped at a fraternity house in 2024.

She asserted that Cornell had failed to protect her or adequately punish the men involved in the incident. The men have been dubbed the Cornell Seven.

Cornell has already agreed to an independent investigation into the rape allegation.

Notably, the university has additionally defended its handling of the problem to date, external, saying it conducted an "extensive investigation" that lasted a number of months after the report of the incident, and that it followed applicable federal civil rights law.

She remarked she had "lost faith" in the Tompkins County district attorney. This person was previously leading the investigation. James therefore takes over the case from Matthew Van Houten.

Van Houten's office initially concluded that the evidence did not meet the legal threshold to bring charges – before reopening a criminal investigation last week in light of the new civil complaint, a move that Cornell backed. Cornell accuser was 'failed' by university health care system, lawyer notes. What we know regarding Cornell University frat house rape investigation.

Cornell case highlights 'draining' maze for victims to report campus sex assaults.

Notably, the upcoming "Justice for Survivors" protest, planned at the university for 5 October, is being advertised in flyers all over campus. It calls on Cornell to take action against alleged rape culture.

Student organisers are calling for Cornell to expel and revoke the degrees of the alleged perpetrators of the rape, rewrite policies around sexual assault punishments, initiate an external investigation of the university and mandate prevention training for campus police.

As part of its account of its prior investigation of the case, Cornell notes: "At its conclusion, the hearing panel issued a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell."

Cornell notes it is legally prevented from publicly disclosing specific disciplinary outcomes concerning disciplinary students, adding that "we recognise that this legal limitation can be frustrating". Throughout campus, the case has stirred anger.

Now, two years on, she informed the BBC how she and her friends felt "overwhelmed" and "disappointed", comparing the atmosphere on campus to a "dark cloud". Cornell, she believes, mishandled things.

She wants the administration to admit what she sees as its mistakes, calling the lack of transparency disheartening.

She additionally asked why multiple men in a group chat for members of Chi Phi – the fraternity group at the centre of the allegations – did not speak up. A chapter of the fraternity was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.

Students and community members additionally employed Thursday's student assembly session to vent their frustrations and disappointment.

"I am very disgusted to be here, to be paying this institution to be here, " freshman Eliana Dolven-Miller remarked. "There was a lot of anger in that room, I was very angry."

Eeshaan Chaudhuri, the student assembly chair, opened the session by saying that the campus stood "with victims of sexual violence".

"We don't tolerate it here on campus, and I think I can speak for every single one of us, and I can say we're absolutely ashamed of the events that happened on our campus, " Chaudhuri remarked.

For context, the student group has additionally raised a resolution calling on the university to release a written account of how it handled the alleged sexual assault, including what evidence was gathered and whether and when the university referred the matter to campus police.

Notably, a faculty member remarked the mood on campus was "dismal". Staff were not trained therapists, she remarked, so it was hard to know how to navigate these discussions with students.

It was an "incredible situation that was so. I just don't understand, " she remarked, adding that she was unsure if the university should have gone further, and adding that this was not the first time a fraternity group had had difficulties on campus.

Some of the freshmen, or first-year students. This person spoke to the BBC had only arrived at Cornell last month.

For context, a young woman remarked she and her friends had been discussing the allegations again that morning. Her friend remarked it had been challenging for him to come to an Ivy League university feeling excited regarding the future, only to see this story dominate the news.

Students were not OK regarding what happened to Jane Doe, he stated. Cornell alumni have additionally given their views.

"Will Cornell take this as an opportunity to ask difficult questions about the proliferation of sexual violence on its own campus?" asks the letter, which was published in the university's student newspaper.

"Or will it shy away from reform to protect its image? This is not an isolated incident."

For now, a ' dark cloud' and ' dismal' mood: How it feels on Cornell campus remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.