The criminal investigation was revived this month after a civil lawsuit alleged that a woman was drugged with ketamine and assaulted for seven hours by members of the Chi Phi fraternity. Cornell previously expelled two students and required others to write remorse essays, a lenient reaction that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cited as evidence of a culture protecting assault at elite institutions. The District Attorney originally declined to file charges, claiming the victim's initial statements to police did not explicitly allege a lack of consent.
