Because protecting a man’s potential is always the priority.
It began with a lawsuit that confirmed every woman’s worst fears on campus. Unsealed court documents detailing the 2024 Chi Phi fraternity case at Cornell University alleged a horrific, multi-hour gang rape of Jane Doe—a student who was drugged, assaulted, and degraded in a group chat with 57 other men stating, “free pussy”. But what truly laid bare the complicit core of higher education was the disciplinary response. While two men were expelled, court filings revealed that others were handed temporary suspensions or instructed to write essays as part of their disciplinary measures, all while the victim had no other choice then to drop out.
Read that again. Seven men are accused of inflicting hours of unspeakable, deliberate violence on a woman, and the system’s answer for some of them was an essay. Meanwhile, the survivor’s education, safety, and life were completely derailed. Are we finally ready to admit that the roots of rape culture in higher education aren’t just deep: they are the very foundation the institution stands on?
It forces a furious, fundamental question that every single woman on a university campus is left asking: Where the hell are we supposed to go?
When the legal system stalls, when university administrations protect their precious “brand” over human life, and when disciplinary boards treat acts of violence as a teachable writing moment, what choices do women actually have? We are continuously lectured to carry pepper spray, lock our doors, cover up, watch our drinks, don’t stay out late, and download safety apps. It is an infuriating, backward ritual that places the entire burden of survival on women, while men are left under the lazy, dangerous impression that “boys will be boys.”
No safety app stops a room full of men who believe they are untouchable. No curfew prevents violence when institutions condition young men to believe that a female body is public property. We don’t need another list of precautions for potential victims. We need society to start telling men, directly and without exception, to stop raping women. We need people to understand that “no” means no, and that the absence of a “no” when someone is intoxicated or terrified is not an invitation.
The silence within these spaces is sustained by a fraternity culture that prioritizes brotherhood over human dignity. “It’s no longer protect your sisters—it’s hold your brothers accountable,” says Karina Dasilva, a fourth-year psychology student at Laurier. “Membership to a fraternity should never override your morals.”
What makes the outcome so sickening to female students reading through court filings is that they find this an unsurprising case. “I read her testimony and it just seems like another unsurprising case of men taking advantage of women when they are intoxicated, or not understanding that not saying no isn’t consent,” says Brianna Richter, a fourth-year Law and Society student at Laurier. “Body language and circumstances speak a thousand words. Just another disappointing case.”
That sense of inevitable disappointment is the true baseline of student life today. Statistically, one in five women experience sexual assault at college or university, yet fewer than ten percent is officially reported, leaving most stories unheard. Why would anyone report? Why would a survivor subject herself to institutional interrogation when the result of her trauma is a forced withdrawal, while her attackers get off with an essay prompt?
The specific horrors of the Cornell case may outrage the public, but to women on campus, it is not an anomaly. It is merely the latest proof of a broken, protectionist system. Universities like to market themselves as progressive bastions of equality, but when sexual violence occurs, their default machinery is built entirely around managing institutional liability and shielding perpetrators.
“When an institution chooses to protect those who committed the act and punish the victim, you don’t have a culture of safety,” says Alex Rodrigues, a fourth-year history major. “You have a culture of complicity, and any such culture disqualifies you as a reputable institution.”
It is time to stop sugarcoating reality. It is time to stop asking women to be polite about their own endangerment. Wake up.
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