Cornell student disciplined in assault case shares room with unaware roommate

Cornell University failed to separate a student disciplined for sexual misconduct from his female roommate for two weeks after a lawsuit made his name public, according to a faculty member.

Psychology professor Corinna Loeckenhoff raised the issue at a Faculty Senate meeting on Oct. 14. She stated that the student, one of seven men sanctioned in a 2024 case, returned to campus in the fall after a three-semester suspension. University housing assigned him to a co-ed dorm. His roommate was unaware of his disciplinary history until Jane Doe, the accuser, filed a lawsuit in September that named him.

Loeckenhoff told President Michael Kotlikoff that the arrangement created a clear security risk. She noted that university records indicated the student admitted to taking drugs and having sex with an intoxicated person. She questioned why Housing Services lacked this information until the roommate requested a move. Students on social media shared the accused student's name and dorm location after the lawsuit details emerged.

Kotlikoff faces a possible no-confidence vote from the faculty this week. He stated that the university's disciplinary panel, not his office, decided to allow the student's return. He acknowledged the university's duty to address concerns about the student's presence. He pledged to investigate the situation if the faculty did not believe the university acted appropriately. Cornell said it will review whether concerns were raised with housing and if appropriate accommodations were provided.

The legal dispute centers on an alleged incident at a Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024. Jane Doe sued Cornell and seven men, claiming she was given ketamine and raped. The men deny the allegations, asserting the encounter was consensual or that they were not involved. A local district attorney initially found no crime had occurred. The case is now under investigation by New York's attorney general.

Cornell's Title IX investigation resulted in two expulsions, two suspensions with probation, and two men required to complete reflection papers and bystander training. A seventh man, who had already graduated, was barred from campus. One expelled student enrolled at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. That university stated it acted immediately upon learning of the allegations but declined to specify the outcome due to federal privacy laws.

Andrew Miltenberg, the attorney for the returning student, said his client maintains the encounter was consensual. He argued that the seven accused men should be judged on their individual evidence. Cornell's media relations office stated that students who complete suspensions regain full rights, including housing eligibility. Federal privacy laws limit universities' ability to warn roommates about a student's disciplinary history, according to legal experts. Anthropology professor Noah Tamarkin said students in his class expressed discomfort with the accused students' return to campus.