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Male Graduate Sues Cornell, Saying Investigator Discriminated Against Him Based On Religion, Ethnicity, Sex - The Cornell Daily Sun
Male Graduate Sues Cornell, Saying Investigator Discriminated Against Him Based On Religion, Ethnicity, Sex - The Cornell Daily Sun
com/2017/11/26/male-graduate-ue-cornell-aing-invetigator-dicriminated-
11/14/2018 Graduate Sues Cornell, Saying Investigator Discriminated Against Him Based on Religion, Ethnicity, Sex | The Cornell Daily Sun
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TITL IX Novemer 26, 2017
Male Graduate Sues Cornell, Saying
Investigator Discriminated Against Him
Based on Religion, Ethnicity, Sex
Drew Musto
A male graduate i uing Cornell Univerit in federal court, claiming that he wa treated
unfairl and unlawfull during a Univerit Title IX invetigation. It i the third lawuit
of it nature in even month, and the econd time in the ame period that a tudent or
former tudent ha claimed the Univerit’ ehavior gave him uicidal thought.
The newet complaint, filed on Tueda in U.. Ditrict Court for the Northern Ditrict of
New York, accue Cornell’ Title IX coordinator, arah Affel, of dicriminating againt a
former tudent, “John Doe,” aed on hi ex, religion and ethnicit.
The man, who i Mulim and originall a citizen of a outh Aian countr, wa accued of
and found to have committed a exual aault, according the complaint. The male
tudent denie that he committed exual aault.
Univerit pokeperon Linde Hadlock aid on unda evening that Cornell cannot
comment on active litigation.
The invetigation and the one-ear upenion handed to Doe gave him evere mental
health prolem, he a in the uit — prolem that reulted in hi contemplating
uicide and hi eing admitted to a pchiatric ward “for everal da,” he a.
Doe alo allege that the invetigation wa unfair and that Cornell and Affel failed to
conider the reult of a polgraph tet he voluntaril took and reportedl paed.
Doe graduated from Cornell in Ma 2017, ut onl after erving hi upenion, which
remain marked on hi trancript, he a.
The graduate’ encounter with hi accuer, “Jane Roe,” wa on the final Frida of the fall
emeter of 2014, the complaint a.
Doe and Roe were at the ame part, oth drinking, Doe a in court, adding that mot
witnee who aw Roe that night aid he wa everel intoxicated.
everal witnee aid that Roe’ RA — who incidentall wa alo conuming alcohol at
the ame part — had to carr Roe ack to her Wet Campu dorm room, the uit a.
Another witne inide the dorm aid Roe wa eing phicall dragged ack to her
room, and other witnee added that Roe wa vomiting and lurring peech.
https://cornellsun.com/2017/11/26/male-graduate-sues-cornell-saying-investigator-discriminated-against-him-based-on-religion-ethnicity-sex/ 1/4
11/14/2018 Onl the RA’ account ugget
Male Graduate Sues Cornell, Saying Investigator Discriminated Against Him Based on Religion, Ethnicity, Sex | The Cornell Daily Sun
that Roe’ level of intoxication wa
mild, according to the complaint.
The RA took Roe ack to her room
and taed with her for aout an
hour and a half to make ure he
would e oka, the complaint
tate.
Doe, a trained MT, later entered
the room and offered to relieve the
RA of her dutie and to watch over
Michael uguitan / un taff Photographer
Roe himelf, the complaint a.
Universit Title IX coordinator arah Affel presents at a tudent Asseml
The RA accepted hi offer, Doe
meeting in Willard traight Hall on Thursda, April 20, 2017.
a in the uit.
Thi i where torie diverge. Doe a nothing ignificant happened eond thi point:
He lept on Doe’ floor until aout 6 a.m. and then left. ut Roe a he awoke to find
Doe in her ed and that he then kied her, touched her and forced her to perform oral
ex.
Roe reported a exual aault to the Cornell Police Department aout four and a half
month after the Decemer 2014 night, the complaint a, and during thoe month,
Doe a he and Roe had a normal friendhip and that Roe called him an “aweome
friend” at one point.
Doe claim the allegation made a “cloe friend” took him urprie.
The police invetigation into Roe’ report lated onl a few da.
After Doe denied the allegation oth in a two-hour interrogation and in a “controlled
phone call” — a recorded phone call etween Roe and Doe in which Roe tried to get Doe
to incriminate himelf, the complaint a — and after Doe agreed to take a polgraph
tet, which he paed, CUPD cloed it invetigation and Doe wa not charged with a
crime.
The Univerit’ Title IX Office, at that time till under the Office of the Judicial
Adminitrator, then conducted it own invetigation and found Doe reponile for
exuall aaulting Roe.
Doe a Cornell and it invetigator, Affel, conducted a iaed, aritrar, capriciou,
unfair and harmful invetigation.
Doe a Affel declined to conider the reult of what Doe a wa an exculpator
polgraph tet ecaue the tet are “generall not admiile in court,” the uit a.
Doe a in the uit that thi wa an aritrar and capriciou deciion, ecaue Affel
relied in part on heara to come to her finding that he wa reponile.
He aid Affel aritraril ignored evidence, pointing out that it wa Cornell Police who
urged him to take the polgraph tet in the firt place.
Affel alo declined to provide the reult of the tet to Doe, he a, during or after the
invetigation.
Unale to ecure the reult from Affel, Doe aked the Cortland Police Department,
which adminitered the tet, for them, ut Doe a Affel diuaded the police from
turning over the reult, telling the department that the reult were part of an ongoing
invetigation at Cornell.
Doe wa later ale to ecure hi reult from the Cortland police, he a.
https://cornellsun.com/2017/11/26/male-graduate-sues-cornell-saying-investigator-discriminated-against-him-based-on-religion-ethnicity-sex/ 2/4
11/14/2018 Doe further accue Affel of reling on anti-male, anti-Mulim and anti-outh Aian
Male Graduate Sues Cornell, Saying Investigator Discriminated Against Him Based on Religion, Ethnicity, Sex | The Cornell Daily Sun
tereotpe to find him reponile.
Affel wrote in her report that Doe’ ehavior — pecificall calling Roe a “weetheart”
and joking that he wa hi child — wa “unuuall paternal to the point of eing
patronizing or demeaning,” according to the complaint.
Doe claim that Affel treated female witnee differentl, aing the female RA called
Roe “cute” and “like a little iter” to her, comment Doe a were not flagged Affel.
Doe alo claim that Affel ought more aggreivel to dicredit Doe and another male
witne while appling le crutin to Roe and female witnee, depite what Doe a
i their admittedl higher level of intoxication on the night in quetion.
Affel dimied the potential impact of intoxication on witne memor in thi cae,
aing “the invetigation did not give rie to concern that the witnee or partie were
o intoxicated that the could not rememer the event of the evening,” the complaint
a.
ut, the uit claim, Affel called Doe’ crediilit into quetion ecaue “atronomical
data” contradicted hi etimate that the un wa up at 6 a.m. when he a he left Roe’
room. In fact, Affel found, on that da “civil twilight egan at 6:49 a.m. and unrie
egan at 7:21 a.m.”
Doe aid: “Common ene … dictate that a peron who i o intoxicated that he cannot
walk on her own, o intoxicated that he i vomiting, and o intoxicated that he i
incoherent and apparentl unaware of her urrounding, and o intoxicated that he
pae out, i not likel to give a reliale account of event that tranpired while he wa
o heavil under the influence of alcohol.”
Doe alo claimed Affel failed to conider the influence of alcohol on another female
witne who Doe claim aid he had conumed at leat 10 alcoholic drink.
“The onl poile explanation for Affel’ willful lindne to the acute influence alcohol
had on certain witnee’ recollection of event i that he wa determined to find Doe
reponile for exual violence,” Doe a, adding that Affel had an anti-male ia.
Doe alo a Affel emploed anti-Mulim ia when one of the witnee rought up
Doe’ Mulim faith, at which point Affel egan to quetion the witne aout Doe’ level
of repect for women, Doe claim in the uit.
Affel finihed the invetigative report in Jul 2015. Thi wa when the Title IX
invetigator’ determination and cae fact were not reviewed or aired at a hearing, ut
rather a panel that aed it deciion on the invetigator’ report.
That review panel found in eptemer 2015 that a preponderance of the evidence
uggeted Doe had committed exual miconduct, and it recommended a two-ear
upenion with mandator couneling and pchological care. After an appeal, the
upenion wa reduced to one ear. Doe’ upenion i noted on hi trancript,
according to the complaint.
Doe i demanding a jur trial and i aking the Univerit for damage.
Hi attorne, Andrew Miltenerg, i the ame lawer who repreented Paul Nungeer in
a uit againt Columia Univerit.
Nungeer i the Columia tudent who wa accued of exual aault mma
ulkowicz, who famoul carried a mattre around campu her enior ear at Columia
after the Univerit found Nungeer not reponile.
Miltenerg i currentl repreenting another anonmou Cornellian in a federal court
cae that i now in mediation.
https://cornellsun.com/2017/11/26/male-graduate-sues-cornell-saying-investigator-discriminated-against-him-based-on-religion-ethnicity-sex/ 3/4
11/14/2018 Male Graduate Sues Cornell, Saying Investigator Discriminated Against Him Based on Religion, Ethnicity, Sex | The Cornell Daily Sun
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