I decided to avoid posting about the Cornell Seven case for good reasons: I didn't know what happened, and the publicly available evidence didn't clarify things. Jane Doe's story changed over time, and the men involved clearly indicated they were uncomfortable afterward.
The story was a mess, and remains so. Knowing what I know now, I don't think anybody comes out of it looking very good, including Jane Doe. And the men? They all sound like cads to me. Cornell? They actively encourage bizarre sexual practices, including polyamory and "kink," so I'm in the "hate Cornell" camp too.
So why have I taken to writing about the case, despite my disgust with the whole thing and my repulsion toward everyone involved?
Simple: very few people care about the actual facts; it is being presented as a morality play, where on the one side a victim, by virtue of her position on the intersectional ladder, gets to vanquish the bad guys, who are there also by virtue of their position on the intersectional ladder.
BREAKING: Cornell University protesters SCREAM en mass as they protest for Jane Doe. Cornell has banned all frat parties as investigation into alleged sexual assault continues. Video by Jonathan Fernandes | Licensing @FreedomNTV [email protected] https://t.co/AdTKpeoCHq
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) October 13, 2026
That is not how justice, or the media, are supposed to work. It smells more like the Covington kids or Kyle Rittenhouse than an impartial search for truth and justice. It is a political football; outright lies are being spread, and the gray zone of reality is being ignored in favor of a Narrative™.
Kathy Hochul is asked about all the prejudicial statements she and Tish James have made pre-judging the "Cornell 7" defendants as Gang Rapists -- and then goes on to make even MORE flagrantly prejudicial statements, declaring the "victim" was "brutally attacked" at the fraternity https://t.co/nLcUtkaxSb
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) October 14, 2026
As you know, that drives me nuts. I have this apparently bizarre belief that we should argue about things that resemble reality, not make up crap and throw it against the wall, hoping it sticks. I don't deny that what happened in that room behind closed doors was gross and morally wrong; I'm just not certain the only people who did wrong were the men.
Consider this scenario to understand how I can think that way: if we watched an S&M session play out, as many (not me!) did when the Fifty Shades movies and books were popular, you could interpret every sexual encounter as nonconsensual if you didn't know that they were apparently not. The whole point of that sort of "play" is riding the line, and if somebody involved regretted the encounter later, was it sexual assault?
I don't know. And here, it sure sounds like Jane Doe went into the night knowing she was getting into a "gang bang," and said as much after it was over, justifying it. Then she changed her mind.
BREAKING: Confrontations as Cornell University "We are Jane Doe" Protesters face off with Michael Tracey in Ithaca, NY Video by Jonathan Fernandes | Licensing @FreedomNTV [email protected] https://t.co/SUcfh9KQVB
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) October 13, 2026
The whole thing is about states of mind, and we can't read minds. It certainly wasn't a rape in the classical sense, since her reaction after the fact said as much. And given that Cornell has "health" flyers promoting scenarios such as the one that played out, it's certainly plausible she took them as encouragement to join in what turned out not to be fun.
Cornell University has a history of pushing raunchy sex-ed guides that critics claim fueled the Chi Phi frat scandal by encouraging drug-fueled orgies.
In 2019, Cornell Health published “Yes, No, Maybe So: A Sexual Inventory Stocklist,” which contains dozens of risque sex acts and asks respondents to answer if they’re interested in performing them.
Among the activities listed are “Sex of some kind(s) with three partners at a time,” “Sex of some kind(s) with more than three partners at a time” and “Some kind of casual or occasional open/non-exclusive sexual relationship.”
Other activities mentioned on the checklist are “Initiating or having sex while or after I have been drinking alcohol or other recreational drugs” and “Having a partner talk to acquaintances, family or co-workers about our sex life.”
Other sex ed materials that Cornell Health recommends be displayed in dorms include the worksheet “Sexual Pleasure: Finding the ‘Sweet Spot,'” which discusses BDSM, fetish gear and sex toys. Another worksheet called “Sensate Focus” discusses “mutual touching.”
As far back as the 1980s, when I entered college, our first on-campus convocation address from the college president emphasized that the school was not acting in loco parentis and wouldn't police our behavior in the dorms. Everybody took that to mean "anything goes," and indeed anything went. People walked around with bongs in the hallways, did drugs, and students regularly had sex in the co-ed bathrooms.
I lived on campus my last two years. Not my scene, but the message was clear.
As for the intoxication/can't consent argument, I've never understood why it is just assumed that men are always clear-minded when drunk out of their minds and women are helpless victims in the same circumstances. It is a double standard that might make sense in a world of chivalry, but not one where even the college talks about gang bangs and drugs as sexual practices. Cornell even had an official "Kink Club" for years.
BREAKING: Cornell bans fraternity parties in wake of gang rape allegation and says the state police will investigate campus sex crimes. https://t.co/rUAAN4GtwR
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 13, 2026
Everybody is so certain, and even the Governor of New York is making ex cathedra pronouncements that bear little relation to the facts. It's appalling to me. None of those kids shouting epithets or pushing people around knows what happened, and none cares. They are expressing "solidarity" and "believing all women," as if that is completely all right.
Even women get it wrong, or lie, or change their minds. In fact, some of the people promoting Jane Doe have even said that consent can be retracted days, weeks, or even years later, because it is a matter of feelz in the woman's mind.
The FULL texts that the media has been sitting on regarding the Cornell 7 have been released. The media omitted JANE DOE HERSELF stating that this was a "gang bang", writing, "I don't think we should feel any shame...our body our choice" This is what the media has kept HIDDEN from the public.
— Savanah Hernandez (@Savsays) October 8, 2026
It's not a search for facts. It is a witch hunt. That is what enrages me. I don't think the men are morally innocent, because their behavior was, at minimum, caddish. But I also am pretty sure that a lynch mob is not a way to get to the truth or pursue justice, and I am also unsure that Jane Doe is not retroactively rewriting history. In fact, I am pretty sure she is.
As I said, everyone looks bad coming out of this, including everyone shouting and screaming about it. It's dispiriting because I can't shake my prejudice that someone, somewhere, should care about the facts and be impartial.
Silly, I know. We aren't supposed to care about facts, but only emote, choose sides, and try to destroy anybody who sees things differently.
The age of chivalry had its downsides, but at least the concept was that norms were meant to protect people, encourage virtue, and carry social consequences for breaking clear limits on behavior. People often broke the norms, but they still carried weight, and shame imposed limits.
We live in an age where shame is disdained, which is a shame.
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