One of the most upsetting news stories currently gripping America is the case of the anonymous Jane Doe who recently sued Cornell University, claiming that she gang raped at a 2024 fraternity party and that the university failed to protect her or to hold her alleged assailants accountable. After Jane Doe filed that lawsuit, New York governor Kathy Hochul called for in independent review of the college's repose, appointing the state's attorney general Letitia James as a special prosecutor. In the wake of that story, the student-run Cornell Concert Commission has canceled a planned homecoming concert headlined by the LA-based alt-pop duo Between Friends.
Jane Doe reported the attack to police and university authorities in 2024, and it resulted in the fraternity being banned and two of its members being expelled. But other alleged participants only had to take classes and write reflection papers. Based on a summary of Doe's claims from campus police, Tompkins County district attorney Matthew Van Houten decided against pursuing criminal charges.
Last month, prosecutors reopened the investigation. The story has become a culture war issue around issues like sexual consent, campus intoxication, and elite institutions operating with impunity. Last week, as The Cornell Daily Sun reports, the city of Ithaca, New York's Common Council voted to institute a temporary moratorium on all permits for events for Cornell and its affiliated student organizations.
The move is reportedly intended to pressure Cornell to change the way it deals with sexual misconduct complaints. It's set to last until Nov. 5. The Cornell Concert Commission had already announced plans for an Oct. 17 event, headlined by a Between Friends DJ set.
The duo of siblings Brandon and Savannah Hudson has gained a lot of streaming popularity since competing on America's Got Talent in 2013 and releasing their first EP in 2018, and they have opened for artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Conan Grey. Last year, the Cornell Concert Commission booked Ravyn Lenae for the same event, and it had about 1,500 attendees, according to The Cornell Daily Sun. On Friday, the Cornell Concert Commission announced that it was canceling the Between Friends show. (Stereogum's own Scott Lapatine is a Cornell alumm who was part of the Concert Commission as a student.) In their Instagram announcement, the Concert Commission wrote, "The Cornell Concert Commission is a student-run organization and, as students, we stand with Jane Doe and all survivors of sexual violence...
It is essential that we advocate and stand up for those failed by the university’s administration." They say that they're "working to create a charity concert supporting Sexual Violence Prevention and highlighting the talent within our own community, featuring student bands and DJs."
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