House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has canceled an Oct. 15 event in New York City affiliated with Cornell University, because apparently even Ivy League institutions are not exempt from the consequences of how they handle horrific sexual assault allegations. A source close to the Democratic lawmaker told The Hill the event with the Cornell Institute of Politics and Global Affairs (IOPGA) was scrapped due to "the horrific sexual assault allegations and serious concerns about Cornell's response." The Cornell Sun, the university's independent student newspaper, was first to report the cancellation. The Hill has reached out to Cornell and the IOPGA for comment, presumably to ask what exactly they were planning to say.

State prosecutors reopened an investigation this week after a former Cornell student filed a new lawsuit alleging she was drugged and gang raped inside a fraternity house in 2024. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the suit, is accusing seven members of the fraternity of drugging her and assaulting her for several hours when she was unable to consent. Seven members. Several hours. This is not a misunderstanding; this is a lawsuit.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said criminal charges were not filed in 2024 because Jane Doe's original statement to police "did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped." The woman's attorneys disputed this account and accused the initial investigation into this case of being inadequate, which is a polite legal way of saying someone didn't do their job.

On Thursday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed an executive order to appoint state Attorney General Letitia James (D) as the special prosecutor in this case, citing "serious concerns" with how Cornell's police department and Van Houten handled the original investigation. "The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued," the governor said in a statement shared on social media. "This action will ensure that the matter is fully and thoroughly investigated without conflict or bias, and handled independently with the rigor that this matter demands." That is governor-speak for "we are taking this away from the people who dropped the ball."

The new lawsuit has elicited condemnation from lawmakers, with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a Cornell alumna, calling on her alma mater to "step up" in a Wednesday interview with TMZ on Capitol Hill. "We know what it's like when institutions fail women," the Democrat said. "And so whether it's my university or anyone's university, clearly there's been some sort of delay in accountability and that needs to end." Slotkin, a Cornell alum, did not specify whether "step up" meant issuing a strongly worded email or actually doing something. The delay in accountability, however, appears to have finally run into a governor, an attorney general, and a canceled speaking engagement.