Content warning: This article discusses sexual assault.
On Sept. 18, The Cornell Daily Sun broke the story of a civil lawsuit filed by a former Cornell student, identified as Jane Doe, alleging that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple men at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024. In the days since, the independent student newspaper has continued reporting on notable updates in the case (which has now been re-opened by the Tompkins County district attorney), and publishing opinion pieces calling on the Cornell administration to take accountability for its handling of the alleged incident. And, according to student journalists deeply involved in The Cornell Daily Sun’s coverage of this story, the reporting is far from over.
“Student journalism and a free press [are] essential to democracy as we continue to hold our institutions accountable when they fail the most vulnerable,” Sophia Romanov Imber, a Cornell Daily Sun editorial board member and associate editor, tells Her Campus.
A Sept. 21 op-ed from The Cornell Daily Sun’s editorial board — composed of Imber, editor-in-chief Sophia Dasser, and opinion editors Zara Cheek and Rayen Zhou — titled “Cornell Won’t, We Will,” accuses the school of failing to protect its students, noting that “this is not a dark chapter in Cornell’s history, it’s a morbid pattern.”
The editorial board’s goal was clear. “When working on the editorial [piece], our sole focus was on crafting the best message to send to the Cornell community,” Cheek tells Her Campus. “The issue of sexual assault on campus is deeply personal to a lot of college students, so discussing it can be emotionally difficult at times, but we knew that we owed it to the Cornell community, to other victims, and to Jane Doe to take a stance and hold the university accountable.”
In the days since the op-ed was published, Cornell has addressed the case in a statement from Cornell Vice President Kyle Kimball, as well as in an FAQ page outlining the university’s initial response to the alleged incident. “The university conducted an extensive investigation and adjudication over several months and imposed different sanctions based on the findings and circumstances involving each student,” the page states. “At the same time, responding to an incident of this seriousness cannot end when an investigation is completed or sanctions are imposed. We have an obligation to ask what more we can learn, what we can do better, and how we can reduce the likelihood that anything like this happens again.”
The national attention will eventually move elsewhere, but our responsibility to the Cornell community does not.
Sophia Romanov Imber, The Cornell Daily Sun
The school’s next steps will be watched by more than just the Cornell community. Thanks in large part to The Cornell Daily Sun’s reporting, the story of “The Cornell 7” has become international news, sparking conversations across social media and in real life about rape culture and how colleges handle sexual assault claims. Major news outlets like The New York Times are now closely following the story. Celebrities like Florence Pugh and Hudson Williams have spoken out about the case. The story has also prompted women on social media to share their own experiences with sexual assault in solidarity with Jane Doe.
“We certainly didn’t expect this level of interaction … and we are truly grateful for everyone who has shared their experiences and expressed their support for our work,” Cheek says. “I hope it brings light to the fact that sexual assault plagues hundreds of colleges and universities across the world. I hope the [accused] in all of these cases are held accountable, and I hope the survivors know they are seen and they are not alone.” Imber adds, “I hope the broader attention contributes to a serious conversation about sexual assault, institutional accountability and how colleges respond.”
These student journalists know the virality won’t last forever. “The national attention will eventually move elsewhere, but our responsibility to the Cornell community does not,” Imber says. “For us, the more important question is what happens next on our campus, whether there is meaningful institutional change and whether the people affected continue to be heard once the news cycle shifts.”
The reporter who broke the news of the civil lawsuit had been investigating this case for nearly two years before publishing the Sept. 18 story. That long reporting process, Imber says, reinforced the importance of sustained reporting. For her, this is what student journalism is all about.
So many of these national headlines would not be possible without the local headlines that were written first.
Zara Cheek, The Cornell Daily Sun
“We are often recording events, decisions and experiences that might otherwise disappear from the public record,” Imber says. “Student journalism means being accountable to the community you are part of while also being willing to ask difficult questions of it. Our reporting becomes part of the historical record, and at its best, it can help a community understand itself, remember what happened, and push for change.”
Cheek shares this sentiment. “We have to engage in and question the world around us because nobody else is coming to do it for us. That’s why student and local journalism is so important. So many of these national headlines would not be possible without the local headlines that were written first.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit hotline.rainn.org.