The allegations in the Cornell University sexual assault case are nothing short of horrifying. For any student to come forward after an experience like this takes extraordinary courage. No student should ever be left wondering whether the institutions meant to protect them will listen and act.
I support the district attorney’s decision to reopen the criminal investigation. But there are also serious questions about Cornell’s campus culture and its systems for prevention, reporting, and response.
That is why I am calling for outside counsel to conduct a transparent, independent review of the university’s response to determine whether Cornell met every obligation to protect its students and pursue justice.
From now on someone who once felt unwanted will remember that there was a woman from the mountains of Tennessee who spent her life telling people that there was room enough in this world for them too.
That is immortality of a very special kind. #DollyParton