A Former Cornell Student’s Lawyer Says She Stayed on Campus After an Alleged Gang Rape Because the School Wouldn’t Refund Her Tuition

30 Sep 2026, 17:30 by Chrissy Stockton · Thought Catalog

REUTERS/Lauren Petracca

Updated 3 minutes ago, September 30, 2026

After a former Cornell student reported an alleged sexual assault involving fraternity members, her lawyer says she wanted to leave school and recover at home. Instead, she stayed on campus for an entire semester — and regularly crossed paths with the men she had accused.

Students carrying backpacks walk past a Cornell University seal sign on campus in Ithaca, New York, on September 30, 2026, a day after the state attorney general announced a review of the school’s handling of a 2024 sexual assault allegation. Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images.

Thomas Giuffra, the woman’s attorney, told CNN that her parents sought a refund for the rest of the school year so she could go home, but Cornell refused. Without the refund, he says, she remained enrolled and continued to see the men she accused of assaulting her.

The woman filed a civil lawsuit under the name Jane Doe on September 16, accusing 7 members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity of drugging and sexually assaulting her in October 2024. The complaint alleges that 2 members drugged her and that a message referring to her was sent to a fraternity Snapchat group chat. None of the men were arrested after the initial police investigation.

Ithaca, New York: The Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University, where a former student alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven members in October 2024. Photo by Lauren Petracca / Reuters.

Giuffra says she went through Cornell’s Title IX process and that the men faced consequences, though they weren’t all expelled. He says she felt unheard and is no longer in college.

For its part, Cornell isn’t hurting for money: the university reported an $11.8 billion endowment at the end of the 2025 fiscal year.

On September 28, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office had reopened the criminal investigation and asked a senior prosecutor to prepare the case for a grand jury.

A student passes the stone entrance sign of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, on September 29, 2026, as the state attorney general announced a review of the school’s handling of sexual assault allegations against Chi Phi fraternity members. Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images.

Cornell says it works with students who take leave or withdraw and regularly refunds payments when students are no longer enrolled. The university’s statement doesn’t address Giuffra’s account of this student’s refund request.

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