It’s giving major chaos: a group of former Cornell University students, all alumni of the Chi Phi fraternity, are demanding that the school officially clear their names regarding an alleged 2024 fraternity house rape.
The background
Last month, a woman identified as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against Cornell, the fraternity, and several men. The suit alleges that a fraternity member posted a crude message to a Chi Phi Snapchat group chat, claiming a woman was available for sex, which allegedly led to hours of assault involving the drug ketamine. While the local district attorney didn’t bring charges, New York Attorney General Letitia James is now the special counsel leading an investigation into the case.
Why they’re speaking out
These former students, who graduated in 2022 and 2023, say they weren’t even at the school when the incident went down. Despite that, online sleuths targeted them after a website listed them as associates of the frat. They’ve been hit with horrific threats, like "you will never know peace" and worse, leading to them being placed on leave by their employers and schools.
Their lawyer, Adam Ford, sent a letter to the university on Oct. 3 asking Cornell to explicitly confirm that alumni who weren’t enrolled in fall 2024 were not in the Snapchat group chat. The men are also asking for individual letters from the school confirming they weren't involved.
Why it matters
This is a classic case of the internet mob getting it dead wrong. Because of inaccurate online "sleuthing," these men are facing major professional and personal fallout. The takeaway? Digital vigilantism is highkey dangerous, and these guys are now looking to the school to clear the record before their lives are permanently derailed by false associations.
