Hundreds of thousands of parents from across the world send their daughters to study at universities across the United States. What took place at one of the elite universities of the US in 2024 was nothing less than the sacrificing of the life story of a girl student of Cornell in order to protect a group of young rapists. Word is that some of the guilty youth were from families that had made hefty financial contributions to Cornell in the past. The consequence was that someone in the higher administrative ranks of the university instructed the campus police to conceal the explicit charges of rape that had been made by the victim in her deposition. This and other redactions threw off track the efforts of the New York District Attorney to fully investigate the case. Much to the relief of the sex offenders and their families, no charges were filed by the DA’s office concerning the assault on the girl. Whatever took place was regarded as consensual, and hence permitted by law. The scholastic career of the victim was ruined, and she had to leave Cornell. The assault on her was so intense that her very continuation in academic pursuits was halted. However, she never gave up, she persevered in seeking justice. Not the “justice” of the campus police but actual justice for what she had suffered. Finally, the matter was reopened by the DA, when fresh DNA evidence was uncovered (that had presumably also been concealed by the campus police). Not just the assault but the manner of its handling by the university administration has infuriated the student community in Cornell, almost all of whom have their principles intact. Hiding behind its Ivy League cover, Cornell became a refuge for a few depredators, who believed their money and connections gave them the licence to treat others as they willed. The victim was plied with alcohol, as well as forcibly given drugs which dulled her resistance to the coming assault. Such facts were each available to the campus police in 2024, but covered up by them in order to protect the depredators. The safety and security of girl students is uppermost as a priority, including in the best Indian universities. Universities in India, more than a few of them, have the same standards of excellence as the Ivy League institutions in the US.
A society is judged by its treatment of women. The better the treatment, the greater the chance that the society is on an upward track. What took place at Cornell was inexcusable, not just the assault on a defenceless girl student but the subsequent cover up by some Cornell University higher-ups. Every institution makes mistakes, including in admission of those who may lack moral standards. Facing up to them is far better than pretending that such blemishes were non-existent. Now that the District Attorney in New York has been apprised of more of the facts of the 2024 case, the odds are that he would get enough evidence to send at least a few of the depredators in the 2024 case to trial. As for Cornell, they should invite back the girl student and help her to resume her studies. Two years can be made up in less than half the time. It is not simply a case of paying damages, but equally of doing justice to the future life and career of the 2024 victim. The silver lining in this shoddy episode is that from now onwards, universities in the US will do more to bring to book egregious misbehaviour among any in the student community, in the way quality universities in India do. Cornell was founded by an individual with the purpose of developing young minds in order to serve society, and not serve themselves at the cost of the rest of society. The US has a number of top class universities, and the Cornell episode will make them much more aware of the need to ensure that fraternity merrymaking does not lead to abuse of the law. It was heartening for a citizen of India to see how students of Indian ethnicity and nationality in Cornell are among the driving forces calling for an overhaul of standards of securing safety of students from all over the world. The university system is among the greatest soft power attributes of the US, and they seem on track to continue in this role. Though delayed, justice is finally being done to the victim. As for the depredators, not just expulsion from Cornell but a spell in prison is what is needed. Access to money and power does not mean licence, especially to harm another. The Cornell case is a sign not of degradation of standards, but on the existence within a democracy of alternative routes to justice. Cornell needs to welcome back the victim, and ensure she resumes her scholastic career before it was so cruelly interrupted in 2024. Universities across the world need to see in the events at Cornell the need for improving their own standards of preventing assault on students and ensuring justice.
