Good morning. American forces withdrew from Iraq today, after two decades of military presence. They are leaving behind a battered nation. And a clash in the cockpit of a plane flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv this morning prompted Israel and Saudi Arabia to scramble fighter jets in fear of a hijacking. Read more here. There’s more news below. But let’s start on campus.
Justice for Jane Doe?The mood at Cornell is tense. Local prosecutors are reviewing a decision not to prosecute seven students accused of raping a student there in 2024. The school’s rugby team acknowledged that some of the accused were players. The mayor of Ithaca, where Cornell is based, called for a moratorium on all permits for student events. At a town hall event, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decried the “culture of rape” at elite institutions. Takes and gossip fly alongside facts and accusations. The home page of the student newspaper is consumed by the story. A recent civil lawsuit discloses gruesome details: Men are said to have given ketamine and alcohol to a woman at a frat house. Then one invited his fraternity brothers over to have sex with her. The revelations led the district attorney to reopen the case, reviving a debate about how students accused of sexual misconduct can be punished. And the fallout — an alleged assault first forgotten, then revived — has gripped the nation. As Cornell hunkers down, Emma Goldberg, who covers New York, is on campus. We asked her what she’s seen, what she’s heard, what she’s learned. Sam: What are the vibes at Cornell right now? Emma: Yesterday, I talked to people outside Cornell classrooms, libraries and Collegetown Bagels, a local hangout. A lot of freshmen feel outraged by the allegations. They just sat through orientation lectures about how seriously the school takes these sort of complaints! Some students let me scroll through their feeds on Sidechat, an app where students anonymously share gossip and opinions about campus news. Many sympathized with the victim, known as Jane Doe, and vented about Cornell’s response. Others said sexual violence is pervasive nationwide and thought Cornell was being unfairly singled out. Some defended Greek life. A number of students told me they’re less likely to rush sororities and fraternities. A young woman told me somebody handed her an open drink at a frat party Saturday. Her whole friend group panicked.
So what are students doing? Some of the people who think the university mishandled the case are taking matters into their own hands. How? Student journalists at the campus newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun, published the names of the seven accused fraternity members. As their essay put it, “Cornell Won’t, We Will.” Now their readers are naming and shaming the alleged perpetrators in social media posts. Journalists tread carefully in cases like these. How did Sun editors try to do that? One of their reporters, Cereese Qusba, has spent 23 months reporting out what happened to Jane Doe, frustrated by how the attention faded after her initial campus police report in 2024. The editor in chief, Sophia Dasser, wanted to tell readers how Cornell disciplines students in such cases, how it shares information with prosecutors or how often sexual assaults take place on campus. But she said the school wasn’t very forthcoming. (The university says federal law prevents it from talking about specific cases.) “The victim allegedly received these acts uncensored,” Dasser told me. “It would almost be wrong for us to censor it to the rest of the campus and leave only the victim to have experienced the alleged acts in raw details.” I wrote a story about the newsroom’s decision-making. People sound frustrated. Students I’ve interviewed are bewildered about why only a few of the men involved in this case were reportedly expelled. They’re also marveling over the strangeness of learning that guys they knew — from class and clubs — could be guilty of something so sinister. Now students seem a little jaded. “I got the feeling if something bad happened I would be protected,” one young woman told me. “It’s sad to find out that’s not true.” Here’s what we know about the case.
Other life? Researchers found radio waves streaming from an alien planet. Caleb Flynn: An Ohio jury convicted Flynn, a former music pastor and “American Idol” contestant, of murdering his wife. The trial captivated the internet. Roller coaster: Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles is permanently closing its X2 ride following lawsuits linking the coaster to brain injuries and deaths. Fat Bear Week: Backpack, a male brown bear known for his gentle demeanor, won Alaska’s annual contest. See photos of him. Your pick: The most clicked story in The Morning yesterday was about scientists discovering a virus that is a tiny bit human.
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Bill McKibben, the author and climate activist, is demoralized. He argues that we weren’t built for a world like this. If your partner’s digital life is disrupting your relationship, you might have a case of “attention infidelity,” Jessica Grose writes. The Anniversary Sale ends soon: Morning readers, enjoy our best offer. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your interests with expert coverage of news, culture, business and more. Save now: $1/week for your first year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
