03/10/2026
Sophia Dasser is a Muslim student and the editor-in-chief of The Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell University’s independent student newspaper.
Alongside reporter Cereese Qusba, she has helped bring renewed attention to an alleged 2024 r*pe at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house.
Qusba spent almost two years investigating the case for The Cornell Daily Sun, examining the allegations, speaking with the woman who reported the assault and investigating how Cornell University handled the case.
The former Cornell student, identified as Jane Doe, alleges that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members. She reported the incident to Cornell University Police in November 2024, but no criminal charges were initially brought.
The Sun continued investigating the case even as it received little public attention.
When Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit in September 2026, the newspaper published its investigation, bringing the allegations and Cornell’s handling of the case into the spotlight.
Dasser, as editor-in-chief, played a prominent role in deciding how the Sun would cover the case. She published an editorial directly challenging Cornell over its handling of the allegations and its lack of transparency.
Cornell had conducted a Title IX investigation and says it imposed suspensions and expulsions. The university initially refused to disclose the individual disciplinary outcomes, citing privacy laws. It later confirmed that expulsions and suspensions had been issued.
The criminal investigation, which had previously not resulted in charges, was subsequently reopened, bringing renewed scrutiny to the case and to the decisions made by Cornell and law enforcement.
The seven men named in the civil lawsuit have not been criminally convicted of r*pe, and the allegations remain subject to legal proceedings.
But the reporting by Qusba, Dasser and The Cornell Daily Sun has forced the case back into public view and raised questions about how universities respond to allegations of sexual violence.
For Dasser, it has also meant using her position as a student journalist to challenge her own university and demand answers.
A Muslim student. A student newspaper. And a case that Cornell could no longer keep out of the spotlight.
