The handling of a sexual assault case two years ago at Cornell University has placed the university’s response to allegations of misconduct under considerable public scrutiny. In the newly reopened case, the anonymous student, referred to in official documentation as Jane Doe, a former student at Cornell, filed a 101-page complaint alleging a gang rape at Cornell’s chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity by 7 fraternity members in 2024. The new evidence emerging, including a secretly recorded phone call, fraternity Snapchat group chat, and drugging allegations has raised questions on how the initial investigation was handled.

Jane Doe alleged that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity over multiple hours at the fraternity’s party. In the morning, she awoke in the fraternity house and returned to her sorority house. Her roommates reported that Jane Doe was in shock and hadn’t processed the previous night’s events. As the day went on, the incident became public knowledge on campus and the seven defendants reportedly bragged about it.

A few weeks later, she reported the incident to the Cornell University Police Department. In an interview with the police in November of 2024, she said, “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped.” This is a notable change from the testimony contained within the six page statement compiled by the Cornell University Police Department. The full transcript of the interview was not included in the statement and was only made public in late September, early October of 2026.

Cornell University opened a formal Title IX investigation two months after the incident in January of 2025. Cornell said the process led to a range of sanctions like suspensions, expulsions, and the closure of the campus’s Chi Phi chapter. Four of the perpetrators claimed to have consensual sexual encounters while the other three claimed to have not participated.

Two years later, this September, Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit in New York County (Supreme Court of the State of New York, Manhattan) and the Cornell Daily Sun broke the news. Doe’s attorney said only two students were expelled and the rest were either suspended for a short period or made to write essays as disciplinary measures.

This case has made national news and is bringing light to sexual violence issues on college campuses across the nation. This case made me think about Skidmore, and so I interviewed Skidmore College’s new Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Danielle Joyce, on the resources Skidmore offers to victims of sexual violence. Danielle was happy to discuss the resources Skidmore has.

Danielle addressed the three possible processes students use if they experience or have experienced sexual violence here at Skidmore. The first is an informal complaint process. If a student goes to Title IX after experiencing sexual violence, Danielle Joyce will conduct an intake on what happened, which does not have to be extremely detailed. She will then address the students’ rights and reporting options. An informal complaint does not involve an investigation and is instead meant to provide resources to the students affected like academic accommodations, counseling resources, housing changes, no contact orders, medical exams, etc.

She emphasized that these resources are provided with or without filing a formal complaint.

Another option is an alternative resolution process. After the intake process and understanding their rights, the student may decide they want to create certain terms between the alleged perpetrator and themselves in order to feel safe on campus. For example, if the student that was harmed wants to be at the gym without worrying about seeing the alleged perpetrator, they may request for the alleged perpetrator to be prevented from using the gym from 7am-12pm. After sharing this request with Danielle, she can serve as an intermediary between the student and the alleged perpetrator until both parties are in agreement. To proceed with an alternative resolution process, both parties must agree to participate, and the Title IX Coordinator must approve as well.

The last process is the formal complaint process. In this case, the student who experienced sexual violence would work with Danielle to understand how to file a complaint and identify the policies that may have been violated. Once a complaint is filed, both the complainant and the respondent receive written notice of the allegations including relevant details such as times, dates, and the alleged misconduct. An investigation would then occur, during which the school gathers evidence and interviews the parties and witnesses. When the investigation is complete, a hearing is held, after which an impartial decision-maker then determines whether a policy violation occurred using the preponderance of the evidence standard, meaning whether it is more likely than not that a violation occurred.

Danielle Joyce would love more student engagement with her office and is always open to new ideas for how to make Skidmore become a more equitable place. You can contact her through her email, djoyce1@skidmore.edu, or stop by her office in Case Center 311.