10/15/2026
Trigger warning for mentions of s*xual violence and drugs.
Full Article: https://harkeraquila.com/100079/opinion/editorial-we-need-to-talk-about-s*xual-assault/
Headlines will forget about the Cornell Seven. We shouldn’t.
Since last week, the case has sparked national outrage. At Harker, we have held no formal, in-person discussions about it. We, as students, are responsible for our own s*xual activity. We must educate ourselves and discuss s*x, consent and s*xual violence.
Cornell should have revealed details of the alleged 2024 s*xual assault of former Cornell student under the pseudonym Jane Doe after it doled out punishments in 2025. On Sept. 16, Jane Doe filed a sweeping civil lawsuit, which prompted the local district attorney to reopen a criminal investigation. On Sept. 21 the Cornell Sun published a fiery editorial that named and denounced the alleged perpetrators.
Following a two-year investigation, the student newspaper revealed critical details the university failed to release. Jane Doe alleged in her lawsuit that she was drugged with ketamine and r***d by seven Chi Phi fraternity members. Cornell expelled two students, suspended two others, banned one from campus and assigned the remaining two “reflection papers,” according to an Oct. 3 New York Times story. None of the accused faced criminal charges. These punishments appear profoundly inadequate given the allegations and the conduct described in the investigation.
Sexual assault isn’t new on school campuses. Students have been discussing the same issue for decades, and cases like Jane Doe’s continue to appear in the news again and again.
But at Harker, there’s a taboo around discussing s*x. It surfaces in punchlines of jokes or gossip, but there are few serious conversations about s*x and s*xual activity.
Visual by Elizabeth Zhang
