Cornell University instructors say teaching has become increasingly difficult in classes attended by two former fraternity members accused in a gang-rape lawsuit who remain enrolled at the school.
The allegations have shaken the New York Ivy League university since a woman identified in court filings as Jane Doe sued in September. She claims that seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted her at the group’s off-campus house in 2024.
The university’s handling of the case has prompted campus demonstrations. Cornell’s faculty senate also says it intends to vote on a resolution expressing no confidence in the school’s administrators.
Prosecutors initially chose not to bring charges against the men. Cornell later opened a Title IX investigation in 2025 and closed the fraternity.
Two of the fraternity members were expelled and two others were suspended. University officials have confirmed, however, that two men identified in the lawsuit continue to study at Cornell.
Winston Lee and Gillio Lopes, among the seven men named in the lawsuit, were suspended following the Title IX proceedings and are believed to have returned to campus. Both have denied wrongdoing.
At a virtual town hall with university officials on Tuesday, faculty members said the presence of the two accused students in their classes has left them struggling to manage their teaching responsibilities, CNN reported.
Cornell has appointed Sally Yates, a former Obama administration Justice Department official who was dismissed by President Donald Trump, to examine the university’s response to the gang-rape allegations.
Cornell University instructors say they are struggling with the continued presence in their classes of two former fraternity members accused of gang rape
Campus protests have focused on Cornell’s handling of the case, while the faculty senate plans to consider a no-confidence resolution targeting university administrators
As part of the “comprehensive independent review,” Yates will assess “how the University prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault and related misconduct on campus.”
The review will examine Cornell’s “policies, practices and resources across the full range of prevention and response.”
Investigators will look at how complaints are received and pursued, how hearings and disciplinary outcomes are managed, and how campus police respond. The inquiry will also consider coordination with outside law enforcement and prosecutors, along with the university’s oversight of fraternities and sororities.
Cornell declined to identify the students who are still enrolled, citing federal privacy law, according to Our News Outlet.
“We recognize that this case has affected members of our community in different ways, and we are committed to supporting students, faculty and staff,” a university spokesperson said.
“University leaders recently provided guidance to instructors on supporting students academically and emphasized the importance of faculty discretion and flexibility in responding to individual circumstances.
“Our goal is to ensure that members of our community know they are not navigating these challenges alone and have access to the resources and support they need.”
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The other men named in Jane Doe’s lawsuit are Matthew Ingalls, Jonathan Newell, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar. Like Lee and Lopes, they have denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
The allegations have sent shockwaves through the New York Ivy League university after Jane Doe sued, claiming that seven Chi Phi fraternity members sexually assaulted her
According to Jane Doe’s lawsuit, the evening of October 19, 2024, started with underage drinking at multiple bars with sorority friends. She later says she was invited to an afterparty at the Chi Phi house and “stumbled alone” to meet her friend, Ingalls.
She said she then agreed to have sex with Ingalls and another man, but alleged that she was pressured to snort ketamine and smoke marijuana as she became heavily intoxicated.
Jane Doe alleged that she became disoriented as other men joined in, all while the men sent a message to the Chi Phi Snapchat group to say there was ‘free p***y upstairs’ in an invite for others to enter the room as well.
The messages also allegedly included an invitation to ‘walk in and whip it out,’ the lawsuit claims.
She said the horrific night ended at around 5.45am on October 20, 2024, when she lost consciousness and eventually returned to her sorority house.
Three weeks later, she reported the incident to the police, but prosecutors declined to bring charges, citing ‘insufficient evidence.’
One of the men allegedly posted to the fraternity’s active-members Snapchat group saying that there was ‘free p***y’ upstairs, referring to Doe, according to the filing, which included an image of the purported chat
Chi Phi fraternity was banned from campus, and the school’s Title IX board launched an investigation into the brothers.
Ingalls and Newell were found responsible for sexual assault by the school’s Title IX panel and were expelled.
Lee received a two-year suspension after the Title IX investigation, but he was not expelled from Cornell, and he has reportedly since returned to classes under disciplinary probation.
Lopes was also hit with a three-semester suspension, and both he and Lee had to write reflection papers and undergo sexual harassment training courses.
Sarabia had already graduated and could not be subject to Title IX punishments, but the university issued a persona non grata order barring him from campus for three years.
Kretzschmar and Norris were found not to be responsible for sexual activity, and their punishments did not include expulsion or any suspensions.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has now launched an ‘active criminal investigation’ into the case, and the men have denied any wrongdoing.
Our News Outlet contacted Cornell, the Office of the Dean of Faculty and the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors for comment.
