New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for an official inquiry into how Cornell University disciplined students accused of a 2024 sexual assault that allegedly left a woman incapacitated by drugs. The mayor of Ithaca is simultaneously seeking to revoke university permits following the revelations of the school's internal response. These pressures emerge as Tompkins County prosecutors pursue criminal charges against seven men, including a former Wells Fargo employee who was fired after the case was reopened.

The criminal investigation was revived this month after a civil lawsuit alleged that a woman was drugged with ketamine and assaulted for seven hours by members of the Chi Phi fraternity. Cornell previously expelled two students and required others to write remorse essays, a lenient reaction that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cited as evidence of a culture protecting assault at elite institutions. The District Attorney originally declined to file charges, claiming the victim's initial statements to police did not explicitly allege a lack of consent.