An Epidemic

A university is supposed to be a place to earn a degree. It is supposed to be a place where students are protected and heard. Cornell University’s handling of a 2024 alleged sexual assault case raises serious questions about what happens when those institutions fail. The Cornell case is representative of an epidemic of rape culture that permeates throughout American society. 

Rape culture is a sociological concept in which rape and sexual violence are normalized and excused due to widespread attitudes about gender, sex and power in a society. This type of environment minimizes the seriousness of sexual assault and tends to shift blame away from the wrongdoers. 

In American society, it is embedded into our laws, pop culture and daily slang. In New York law, a person who is intoxicated by drugs or alcohol can still legally consent, unless the substances were administered without their consent and caused them to become mentally incapacitated. Movies, television shows and music are designed to be accessible and catchy, which winds up presenting harmful gender dynamics and rape culture as entertainment. “Locker room talk” is a phrase used to excuse crude and highly sexualized language as harmless bonding between men and boys. It is a foundational characteristic of rape culture, as it normalizes the degradation of women and lowers accountability for certain behavior. 

All of these characteristics are pillars of a widespread problem in the United States, which showcase the willingness of our society to turn a blind eye to rape culture. This willingness to look the other way has become dangerous. The institutions that supposedly serve as a gateway to justice have failed to provide that justice. 

The Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office did not initially bring charges against the men, and only reopened the case after Jane Doe, the student who alleges being assaulted, filed a civil lawsuit. Cornell itself conducted a Title IX investigation, which led to only two of the seven men being expelled while the rest were subject to lesser disciplinary action.

It was the duty of both the university and law enforcement to ensure justice was received and the alleged perpetrators were met with discipline. We have become a failed state when, as a country, we can no longer provide a basic right: justice. It was the duty of the 50 men in the group chat to call the police and try to help Jane Doe. We have become a failed society when 57 men decided that gang rape is an acceptable action or that the degradation of women is justifiable. 

The Cornell case should not be treated as an isolated incident. It is a reflection of a larger problem that allows sexual violence to be excused, ignored or forgotten. If our society continues to look the other way, rape culture will continue to thrive. Change can only take place once we look in the mirror and accept silence is not an option.

-HM