Revoke Cornell University's Tax-Exempt Status for Failing to Protect Its Students From Sexual Violence

Cornell receives a tax exemption worth enormous sums every year on the premise that it serves the public. Its own data, its own records, and its own students show that it has failed at a basic public duty: protecting the women in its care from sexual violence and responding seriously when it happens.

What Cornell's own numbers show

In Cornell's 2025 survey, 35% of undergraduate women reported nonconsensual sexual contact during their time at Cornell, up from 23% in 2023. (Cornell Chronicle)
Among undergraduate women in sororities, the rate was 52%, compared with 29% for those who weren't. (ABC News)

Only 23% of students who experienced nonconsensual sexual contact went to any formal resource. (Cornell Chronicle)
From 2018 to 2024, Cornell's Title IX office received 1,216 reports of sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking. It filed disciplinary charges in 162 of them, about 13%. Most people found responsible received minor sanctions like probation or training. Seven cases, 0.6%, ended in expulsion. (Inside Higher Ed, citing USA Today)
A long record of warnings

2018: A Cornell fraternity was put on probation for a contest in which members scored points for having sex with women, with ties going to whoever slept with the heaviest woman. (CBS News)
2022: A sexual assault and multiple druggings at fraternity-affiliated housing led Cornell to pause fraternity parties temporarily. (inkl/AP)
2025: Cornell formed a task force months after the Chi Phi report. Its co-lead told the Daily Sun the group was never charged with solving the problem. (Cornell Daily Sun)
The latest case

In 2024, a student reported being drugged and sexually assaulted by several men at the Chi Phi fraternity house. According to her lawsuit, the accused were allowed to submit essays to mitigate their conduct, and two of seven were expelled. (Yahoo/USA Today) Ithaca's mayor says Cornell never contacted the Ithaca Police Department. Cornell has not explained why her explicit rape accusation was missing from what it gave prosecutors. Her lawyer says Cornell denied her a tuition refund when she tried to withdraw after reporting. (Inside Higher Ed) The criminal case has now been reopened, the Attorney General is reviewing Cornell, and Cornell agreed to an outside investigation only after the Governor demanded one.

Why this warrants revocation

Tax exemption is a public subsidy. Cornell has collected it while one in three of its undergraduate women report sexual assault and fewer than 1 in 100 reports ends in expulsion.
Cornell has known about this for years. Its response has been probation, temporary pauses, training, and task forces, and the numbers have gotten worse.
Every meaningful action in the current case came from outside Cornell: a student newspaper, a lawsuit, a district attorney, the Attorney General, and the Governor.
Cornell holds a multibillion-dollar endowment. Lawsuits and bad press have not changed its conduct. The financial privileges of nonprofit status are among the few consequences large enough to register.
We call on federal and New York State authorities to:

IRS and Congress: Revoke Cornell University's federal tax-exempt status.
New York Attorney General: Take enforcement action against Cornell, including an independent monitor over its handling of sexual assault, and make the review's findings public.
U.S. Department of Education: Open Title IX and Clery Act investigations into Cornell, with federal funding consequences and fines for violations.
Cornell's Board of Trustees: Remove the administrators responsible for the handling of the Chi Phi case, and publicly release the full independent investigation.
Cornell: Disclose how many sexual assault reports since 2018 it referred to outside police.
Sign to demand that Cornell lose the tax benefits it has failed to earn.

* What you can do beyond signing

Listed with the most effective actions first.

Survivors and witnesses from any year: Contact the NY Attorney General's office, the Cornell Daily Sun, or a Title IX attorney. Documented cases across many years turn one lawsuit into proof of a pattern, and that is the greatest risk Cornell faces.
Contact the NY Attorney General's office. Ask for enforcement action, an independent monitor, and public findings. The AG oversees New York nonprofits and has real power here.
File a Clery Act complaint with Federal Student Aid. Ask for a review of Cornell's crime reporting and warnings since 2018, including whether it coordinated with local police. Clery fines are assessed per violation and have run into the millions at other universities.
File a Title IX complaint with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. Third parties can file. Cornell depends heavily on federal funding, which Title IX findings can put at risk.
Contact Cornell's Board of Trustees. Trustees decide who runs Cornell. Write to them directly and demand leadership accountability.
Alumni and donors: Stop giving and tell the Development Office why, in writing. Join the more than 1,000 alumni already demanding reform.
Contact Congress. Ask members of the Senate HELP Committee and House Education and Workforce Committee for a hearing.
File an accreditation complaint with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, citing student safety failures.
File an IRS complaint using Form 13909 at irs.gov.
Prospective students and parents: Ask Cornell admissions how it handles sexual assault reports, and share the answer.

Sources:

Cornell Chronicle, 2025 survey
ABC News, survey
Inside Higher Ed, Oct 1
Inside Higher Ed, Sept 29
CBS News
inkl/AP
Cornell Daily Sun editorial
Yahoo/USA Today
CNN