Editor’s note: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.
The shocking nature of the Cornell University sexual assault scandal has caused discussion on the matter to spread far beyond the hills of Ithaca. Indeed, there are very few circles where I have not heard mention of the horrific events that are alleged to have taken place within the Chi Phi fraternity house. Though I am distinctly disgusted by the now-public details of the event, and the subsequent response by the Cornell administration, I am also greatly disappointed by a trend I have noticed within the public's criticisms at the University. In considering one instance of sexual violence, we are failing to properly weigh the untold level of sexual violence and harassment within our own Academical Village.
Many have regarded the culture that permitted this alleged act of violence and its subsequent cover-up at Cornell as something foreign to our own community. At the University, we should not be so quick to think as much. In a report on the results of the 2024 Higher Education Sexual Misconduct and Awareness survey, 19.7 percent of undergraduate women reported experiencing sexual assault since starting at the University, and 26 percent reported having experienced sexual harassment. Though members of our University’s administration described these statistics as an “encouraging” improvement from previous reports, we must reckon with the fact that nearly one in five undergraduate women surveyed reported experiencing sexual assault since enrolling at the University.
The prevalence of sexual violence at the University is an absolute moral failure, and it should stand as one of our greatest institutional shames. The continued invocation of a “Community of Trust” when some members of that community live in fear of others’ sexual willfulness should force us to confront how far that ideal remains from reality. Even if the University has celebrated improvements from 2019’s HESMA survey, it does not dismiss a harsh reality — the University is suffering from the same culture of sexual violence we criticize at Cornell.
This reality has been long acknowledged, but never fully addressed. In review of the aftermath of a 1954 gang rape in a Lawn room, former University President Colgate W. Darden, Jr. wrote in The Cavalier Daily, “I cannot escape the conclusion that the University itself must bear some of the blame for what has occurred. We have failed, for what reason I do not know, to build a society here that furnishes safeguards that parents have a right to expect, for children who are students here or who visit here.”
We, as the University community, must bear some of the blame for the culture we have allowed to persist since Darden’s statement. In doing so, we must resolve to eliminate that culture. In eliminating this culture, then, what should be our main focus? Aiding survivors of sexual assault and ensuring they can easily access resources available to them should, indeed, be a vital concern, but merely responding to the consequences is not sufficient. The main focus must be to protect people, especially women, from sexual violence in the first place.
Deterrence is always an attractive option, and one that is most easily implemented by the University’s administration. Strengthening the University’s Title IX Office, working more closely with the Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney and expanding efforts to increase confidence in these systems could improve enforcement, making potential perpetrators more conscious of the consequences. However, it is difficult to say that this fully addresses the underlying cultural problem, and it is somewhat dependent on the verifiably false assumption that all incidents of sexual violence will be reported.
Perhaps, in the manner that some do when considering the location and alleged perpetrators of the Cornell incident, it is sensible to scrutinize the cultures within fraternities. Fraternity membership has been suggested to have a relationship with an acceptance of sexual violence, and it is simple to see how, when considering the nature of fraternities. Fraternities have the potential to facilitate insularity, a harmful perception of masculinity, the objectification of women, extreme alcohol and drug consumption and a loyalty to fellow members that shields wrongdoers from accountability. Seeing as how fraternities and sororities across the nation have published condemnations of the alleged rape at Cornell, they should accompany those statements with sincere introspection as to whether they are fostering environments where, heaven forbid, similar acts could occur and be ignored. Such introspection is meaningless without action, including confronting members whose words or actions excuse, minimize or tolerate sexual violence.
This introspection, however, must not be limited to Greek life. As a community, we must consider which of our words and actions give the slightest bit of comfort to an acceptance of sexual violence. We must push back against comments that dehumanize individuals or those that reduce rape to anything less than what it is — a morally abhorrent, emotionally destructive and physically scarring act. We must embody the ideals of the Community of Trust in our daily conduct, holding ourselves and one another to the full measure of our Community’s expectations. We must create an atmosphere where survivors feel comfortable to come forward, and confident their allegations will be taken seriously. Crucially, we must bring to any would-be abuser the certainty that their acts will not be concealed, excused or tolerated, that survivors will not be abandoned to suffer the consequences alone and that those found responsible will face the full force of punishment permitted by University policy and law. The Community of Trust must be more than a phrase we invoke to describe ourselves. It must be a standard by which we hold ourselves accountable.
Lucas Addison is a third-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences and a Student Council College representative. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this guest column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the authors alone.
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