The Cornell Seven Case; the importance of accountability

With the Cornell Seven in the headlines, it’s raising awareness of the importance of accountability and how being a decent person can prevent traumatizing situations.

Jane Doe was looking forward to having a fun night, but it turned into a traumatizing night she would never forget. On October 19^th, 2024, she started off the night drinking with sorority sisters before heading out to a sorority event at a bar. Afterwards, she made her way to Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity house to see a friend. By the time she commuted to the fraternity house, she was visibly intoxicated, according to a civil complaint.

While at the fraternity house, Jane Doe was allegedly given more alcohol along with marijuana and ketamine before seven fraternity members gang-raped her over the course of several hours.

Photographer: Raquel Garcia

In the early hours of October 20^th, 2024, messages from a Chi Phi group chat on Snapchat began to circulate, addressing what had occurred. One of the fraternity members sent a message in the chat saying: “free p****,” to encourage others to join in on the sexual assault.

Jane Doe lost consciousness for a few hours before returning to her sorority house later that day.

She reported the crime to the Cornell University Police weeks later, on November 8th, 2024. While the private Ivy League University acknowledged the sexual assault, the disciplinary action taken was considered a slap on the wrist. The seven fraternity brothers were suspended and were allowed to mitigate their conduct by each writing an essay, an allegation the university denied.

The case became known on September 16^th, 2025, when Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against the university, Chi Phi, the seven fraternity members, and others, alleging the university protected the seven men.

The news of this case led to online fury, alumni threatening to pull funding and people boycotting institutions associated with the gang rape. One online discussion I noticed surrounding the case was the need for a change regarding holding men accountable for their actions instead of resorting to victim-blaming.

Unfortunately, when it comes to sexual assault and even sexual harassment, some are often quick to shift the blame onto the victim. They ask questions about what the victim was wearing, why they drank a lot or why they were in a specific place. Instead, they should be directing that energy towards the perpetrator and asking them what would possess them to do something so heinous.

Photographer: Samantha Sophia-

Regarding this case, I have come across dozens of posts and videos addressing the need to do better when it comes to people holding men accountable for their wrongs. Boy moms, who do not always have the best reputation, have shared how they have had or will have a conversation with their young sons on the importance of consent, being a good Samaritan, and having decency overall.

Men were not just having that same conversation with their sons, but they also shared how men need to learn to hold other men on their end accountable for their poor choices. That is also an important conversation to have because when men choose to be biased, victim-blame, or just simply look the other way, they are part of the problem. When men are no being held accountable for committing such heinous acts, it allows them to think they are invincible.

It is music to my ears to see both men and women coming together to support Jane Doe and address the need to instill accountability in men. Sexually assaulting someone is a calculated move. So, the perpetrator knows what they are doing. We would not have to worry about anything happening to women at a party, bar, gym or outside in the dark if some men had decency.