By: Ellie Simmers | Editor-in-Chief
When news broke regarding the federal lawsuit detailing the alleged sexual assault of a 20-year-old student by seven Chi Phi fraternity members at Cornell University in 2024, I was disgusted, but not shocked.
As a woman in my 20s, almost every woman I know has experienced sexual harassment or assault. I was disgusted by the utter lack of consequences, but again, not shocked.
Why would college students face accountability in a culture that routinely elevates accused men to the highest halls of power?
It seems no one suffers consequences, except, of course, the women who are assaulted.
Publications like The Daily Mail will speculate about the validity of a woman’s story and lawsuit because she didn’t report it at the time.
We saw this with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. When her alleged assailant was about to become a justice on the United States Supreme Court, she decided it was her duty, no matter how traumatizing, to share her story before the man that allegedly sexually assaulted her was appointed to the highest court in the land.
It didn’t matter though, as she was ridiculed and he landed a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court.
The dynamics surrounding high-profile figures are no different from those in fraternity houses; they are usually simply older. Members accused in campus assaults often graduate into prestigious jobs and go on with their lives.
In what world would any woman want to speak up? Not in a country where the backlog of untested rape kits are in the tens of thousands. Not in a country that consistently proves a survivor’s trauma is secondary to a man’s potential.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the young woman at the center of this Cornell story since I first read it. She’s only identified as Jane Doe, but in my mind, she visits me as an amalgamation of every woman in my life.
A sentiment I’ve heard loudly this week on social media is that this is not representative of all men. Sure, not every single human man is an abuser.
However, if just one of the men in that group chat allegedly advertising her sexual availability had used his voice, his influence or his privilege to intervene and stop it, she could have been spared immense, life-altering trauma.
When the focus shifts, as it so often does, to defending the “good” men instead of confronting the actions and silence that enable perpetrators, the cycle of victimization will only continue.
Resources
National Sexual Assault Hotline: call +1 800-656-4673 / www.rainn.com (24/7 confidential chat)
Crisis Text Line: Text “HOME” to 741741
For on campus support, visit HornetCare or reach out to University of Lynchburg’s Title IX department
public relations major from Broadway, Va. She is an avid reader, enjoys thrifting, writing, and keeping up with politics. After graduation, Ellie hopes to attend graduate school and earn her degree in Library Science
