New York (AFP) – The faculty of the American University Cornell, shaken by accusations of gang rape of a student, adopted a motion of no confidence on Friday denouncing the management of sexual violence by the leaders of the prestigious establishment.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 23:08

Teacher representatives do not have the power to dismiss administrators but their vote constitutes a disavowal for President Michael Kotlikoff, directly implicated by this young woman.

In reaction to this vote, the university's board of directors gave its "support" to Mr. Kotlikoff.

The adopted resolution questions "the ability of central administration to effectively address the ongoing sexual assault crisis at Cornell University."

At the end of a week of electronic voting, 75 teacher representatives voted in favor of this text, 50 against and 5 abstained, according to official figures posted on the establishment's website.

This vote “reflects the deep anger across our campus and sends a clear signal: what happened to Jane Doe is unacceptable,” board president Anne Smalling wrote in a statement.

“We support President Kotlikoff’s commitment to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of students on campus and to work together, as a community, to help prevent this from happening again,” she added.

The affair broke out last September, when a former student took legal action in civil court for acts that occurred in 2024, when she was 20 years old.

She says she was raped by seven student members of a fraternity (a male student association), while she had consumed alcohol and ketamine, a powerful anesthetic.

In a letter to faculty representatives, she criticized Mr. Kotlikoff for his lack of support.

The sanctions imposed on the alleged attackers, ranging from suspension to expulsion, were also considered insufficient by some observers.

An independent external investigation examines the management of the file by the establishment, entrusted to Sally Yates, former deputy attorney general of the United States, second highest position within the Department of Justice.

The case also sparked strong criticism of prosecutors who did not initiate any prosecution in 2024, despite an initial complaint, believing they did not have sufficient evidence.

A criminal investigation has since been reopened within the office of New York State Attorney Letitia James, entrusted to a former federal prosecutor involved in particular in the investigation into sexual violence against rapper P. Diddy, Jacqueline Kelly.

The revelations sparked a wave of outrage on campus and beyond, with many seeing it as a symbol of a misogynistic and violent culture linked to fraternities that too often goes unpunished.

According to a study published in 2020 by the Association of American Universities and covering 33 establishments, a quarter of female bachelor's degree equivalent students indicated that they had been victims of forced sexual contact or without the possibility of consent.

© 2026 AFP

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