ITHACA, NY – Cornell University professors introduced a resolution declaring a vote of no confidence in the university administration’s handling of the alleged 2024 sexual assault at a fraternity house. The resolution was presented to the University Faculty Committee on Monday night, according to a copy obtained by NBC News. “That the Faculty Senate has no confidence in the ability of the central administration to effectively address the ongoing sexual assault crisis at Cornell University,” reads the resolution, which is less than half a page long. The measure is expected to be considered by the Faculty Senate, which will meet on October 14, according to a statement from Faculty Senator Paul Ortiz. “The goal is really to force systemic change,” Ortiz, a labor history professor, said in a statement. Ortiz added that “students have been telling us stories that they don’t feel safe, and this has been going on for several years” and called the situation a “systemic problem.” He reiterated that the Senate was not “targeting any individual,” but that students and faculty “have been dissatisfied with the response.” “Women need to feel safe,” she said. In a statement accompanying the resolution, faculty sponsors said “numerous Cornell colleagues” had reached out to them demanding action, while students had told faculty they were “upset, fearful for their personal safety” and wanted the Ivy League school to address sexual assault on campus. Cornell alumni had also reached out to faculty members and shared “their own traumatic stories as students,” the statement added. Cornell declined to comment. The proposed censure resolution marks an escalation of pressure on Cornell and its administration following national scrutiny over how the case was handled. Last month, a former student identified as Jane Doe sued the university and seven current and former students in connection with the alleged sexual assault. She alleges that in October 2024 she was sexually assaulted by several fraternity members while under the influence of alcohol, ketamine and marijuana. The woman’s allegations have made national headlines for days and sparked protests on the university’s campus after widespread criticism that the university and local officials did not do enough to investigate the woman’s allegations. Anne Marie Elizabeth Brady, a member of the Faculty Senate and research director of the university’s Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, said the resolution was adopted “quickly” in recent days. “If I were a woman on the Cornell campus, I would run in the other direction,” she said. “Because I’m not sure Cornell is there to protect students like they should be.” Brady said Cornell’s decision to discipline the seven men accused of wrongdoing instead of turning the case over to outside authorities “strikes me like a cover-up.” “If I’m a female gambler, I suspect they didn’t do that because they wanted to keep it a secret,” she said. “They wanted to manage history.” If the Faculty Senate approves the resolution, Brady said, it will spark a series of discussions among Cornell faculty and leaders about policies affecting sexual assault. Similar measures were taken last year after years of university protests over the war in Gaza. Brady says those recommendations have been largely ignored. “If the administration came out and said, ‘You know what, we made a mistake, we did A, B and C wrong. We failed this student, we failed all of our students through this process and these are the concrete ways and steps we’re going to take to change,'” he said. “If they did that? That goes so far,” Adam Reiss and Maggie Vespa reported from Ithaca; Matt Lavietes reported from New York City.
