Opinion | Enough is Enough – Cornellians Working Across the Political Aisle to Demand that Women Alleging Sexual Assault Are Taken Seriously on College Campuses

By State Sen. Tony Hwang (Cornell ’87);

State Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox (Cornell ’01);

Professor Wynn Gadkar-Wilcox (Cornell M.A. ’00, Ph.D. ’02);

Grace Hwang (Cornell ’86)

It’s ironic that a university founded in 1868 as an institution that welcomed women from its inception is currently at the center of national rebuke over its treatment of a female student. We believe that Cornell University, as a whole, has failed to adequately address the claims of a young woman on campus that she was sexually assaulted by several male students. The process is broken. Any Cornellian will tell you that our university was founded by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White to ensure that “any person,” including women, like Cornell’s daughter, Mary Emily Cornell, could “find instruction in any study.”

To say that we are appalled at the facts coming to light about Cornell’s institutional response to the multiple claims of rape and sexual assault by a student on campus is an understatement. This failure to act requires more than an explanation; it requires a reckoning.

In fact, the true reality that we must address is that this is not an uncommon story. Ask many young women on any college campus today about their experiences and you may be surprised by their collective response. The #MeToo movement should tell you that we are not talking about a few isolated incidents of bad behavior. We are talking about a pervasive culture of sexual harassment and routine instances of institutional dismissal of sexual violence when the price is right – athletics, fraternities, administrative misconduct. The scales of justice seem to tip in the wrong direction when the truth becomes inconvenient.

When are we going to start taking women and students seriously when they raise claims of domestic violence and sexual assault?

When are we going to address a social culture that brushes off sexual and abusive misconduct when it inconveniences perpetrators who seem to be able to control the behavior of institutions that somehow forget they have a fiduciary duty to every student on campus?

Cornell educates future leaders spanning all industries and countries across the globe. This deeply disgraceful situation presents an opportunity to be a consequential part of the conversation that puts the onus to prevent sexual misconduct on the perpetrators, not the survivors. Instead of telling young women to cover their drinks, use the buddy system, and remain on constant alert – let’s teach our students that they are not entitled to anyone’s body. Further, that they have a moral obligation to stand up and speak out when their peers are harming others because their silence is complicity.

We are writing this letter jointly, not only as Connecticut legislators on different sides of the political aisle, but also as Cornellians. Our identity as Cornellians has always provided a unique connection beyond, and regardless of politics. We are also writing with our spouses, whom we met at Cornell, because we are Cornell families. We are writing because we loved our experience at one of the greatest institutions of higher learning in the country, and we want answers.

And because we cherish our alma mater, we expect better. We expect better for our children who attended Cornell University, and for our daughters and aspiring students who are interested in possibly going to Cornell University someday. In fact, we demand the same for any student at any university or college.

As parents, we demand that our children will be safe on campus. And beyond that, we demand that they get treated with the respect and safety they deserve. This means that universities implement a process that ensures that student claims will be duly investigated, turned over to the police when appropriate, and be met with a remedy that is proportionate to the alleged offense, including criminal penalties.

We also require answers. Why was this incident treated as a student conduct violation? Did the investigation follow protocols consistent with Cornell’s Title IX requirements? Why were those requirements changed? How many others have made allegations and received a similar response?

For too long, allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women and other protected student groups have been swept under the rug and not taken seriously. Now is the time to end this harmful legacy of tolerance for allegations of sexual and domestic assault. All Cornellians, and everyone who cares about equal treatment for women and all students, should stand up and say that enough is enough.