Personal Responsibility Applies to Jane Doe, Not Just Cornell's Students and Administration
Source: Eddie Scarry. "Cornell President Understands 'Responsibility.' Jane Doe Should Too." October 14, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that Jane Doe, who was 20 at the time, is trying to blame others for what happened after she chose to drink heavily and take drugs, and that she had earlier said it was consensual. He says Cornell's president shouldn't be apologizing, and that adults, not universities, are responsible for their own judgment and behavior.
Conclusion
Jane Doe, a 20-year-old adult, bears responsibility for her own conduct, and Cornell's president should insist on that principle rather than apologize for an incident the university did not cause and may not have involved wrongdoing.
Premises
- The details of the October 2024 incident are unclear and disputed even by the people directly involved, so Cornell's president apologized for something he had no control over and that may not have happened.
- Jane Doe reportedly insisted in the days right after the incident that it was consensual, legal, and voluntary, and only changed her account about two weeks later.
- Doe's lawsuit portrays everything after she got drunk, including going to two bars, continuing to drink, walking alone to a fraternity house, and snorting ketamine, as other people's responsibility rather than her own.
- A 20-year-old is a legal adult who must ultimately accept responsibility for herself and cannot hand off all responsibility for her own choices to others.
- Instilling character, judgment, responsibility, and care for others is the job of parents and loved ones, not universities, which at the age of legal maturity should take a passive approach of mutual respect and courtesy.
- Kotlikoff's own invocation of 'character, judgment, responsibility' shows he understands these concepts but is not demanding them of the student body, so he is perpetuating a campus environment that lacks responsibility.
Assumptions
- Doe's initial statements that the encounter was consensual are more reliable than her later account.
- Voluntary intoxication and risky choices meaningfully diminish or negate the culpability of others, or at least the legitimacy of a legal claim, for a later alleged assault.
- Emphasizing the accuser's responsibility is compatible with taking an allegation of gang rape seriously.
- Universities have no legitimate role in character formation or in protecting students from alcohol, drugs, and sexual misconduct.
- Kotlikoff's remarks amount to an apology for the alleged assault rather than an expression of institutional concern about campus culture.
- The article's summary of the lawsuit's claims is accurate and complete.