S6 E42: Accountability, Politics & Tough Decisions

There was a civil lawsuit filed in September that alleges that seven members of Cornell's, uh, I guess this is Chi Pi or Chi Phi, I don't know how that's pronounced, uh, fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted a female student during a fraternity party way back in October of 2024.

Now, the allegations alone are horrifying.

There's really no other way that I can describe them.

Now, uh, Cornell reportedly conducted its own Title IX proceedings resulting in disciplinary actions against, uh, some of the students accused, and they range from suspensions and expulsions, uh, to considerably lesser penalties.

Now, it's important to note that all seven have denied any type of wrongdoing.

And now, nearly two years after the alleged incident, the situation has escalated into a criminal investigation that now involves some of New York's most powerful elected officials.

But here's where I wanna make an important distinction.

A university disciplinary proceeding is not a criminal trial.

Neither is a civil suit, okay? And it's not a conviction.

And being accused of something, regardless of how disturbing the accusations may be, does not eliminate someone's right to due process.

We have a justice system for a reason.

We investigate and collect evidence, hear testimony, evaluate credibility, and ultimately it's determined whether the evidence supports the allegation under the applicable legal standards.

That's how it's supposed to work.

Now, unfortunately, in the social media world, there's another courtroom that often reaches its verdict long before the legal system even gets involved, and that's the court of public opinion.

And unlike an actual courtroom, that's one that doesn't require evidence beyond a headline or a, a social media post or an accusation that generates enough outrage, and sometimes, uh, honestly, I, I think it's false outrage.

Um, which brings me to something that's been bothering me about this case.

What happens if these seven students are ultimately exonerated? You need to think about that for a moment.

What happens if the investigation doesn't result in a criminal charge? What happens if charges are brought, but the prosecution can't pr- prove its case? What happens if, uh, evidence ultimately establishes that one or more of these individuals were wrongly accused? Now, let's be clear.

Those are different possible outcomes.

An acquittal or a decision not to prosecute doesn't necessarily establish innocence.

But the question remains, what happens to their reputations and their education, uh, future career opportunities, even their families? How do you give someone back a future that may have been permanently altered by allegations that were never proven? You, you just can't issue a press release announcing that charges were dismissed and expect everything to return to normal.

Uh, especially these days, the internet doesn't work that way, and quite honestly, neither does human nature.

Now, none of this means we should dismiss the woman who brought these allegations forward.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Anyone reporting, uh, any type of, of sexual assault or, or anything like that deserves to be heard and treated with dignity and, and given access to thorough, professional, and impartial investigation.