Cornell University on Tuesday named a former top US prosecutor to assess the elite college's handling of an alleged 2024 gang rape of a student that has provoked national outrage.
The incident, as alleged in a graphic lawsuit filed last month, has drawn accusations that the Ivy League institution in New York state failed to properly punish the men involved.
Cornell said that Sally Yates, who served as deputy US attorney general from 2015 to 2017 and briefly led the Justice Department, would conduct a "detailed review" of the university's response to the rape allegations.
The accuser, referred to as Jane Doe, has claimed she was "pressured... into snorting" ketamine, assaulted and raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, a social club for male students.
Following her initial allegations in 2024, Cornell shut down the fraternity and temporarily suspended the accused male students, two of whom were later expelled.
But critics have said the university's response was too lenient, prompting it to launch an independent review.
"It is imperative that Cornell be willing to examine itself with the same rigor we expect of others," Anne Meinig Smalling, chair of the university's board of trustees, said in a statement.
"We want to understand not just what happened in 2024, but how Cornell can become a leader in preventing sexual violence, supporting those who come forward and responding to allegations rigorously, fairly and compassionately," she said.
Thousands of students and faculty members rallied Monday at Cornell to demand justice for the accuser, displaying signs reading "Hold them accountable" and "Protect survivors."
Meanwhile, social media users have shown support by sharing the hashtag #IAmJaneDoe on TikTok, X and Instagram.
A criminal investigation into the alleged gang rape was reopened last week, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointing the state's top prosecutor, Attorney General Letitia James, to lead the case.
That came after local authorities said they declined to prosecute in 2024 because the complainant's testimony did not establish a lack of consent.
In the United States, one in four female undergraduates reported forced sexual contact or sexual contact for which they could not consent, according to a 2020 study of 33 institutions by the Association of American Universities.
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