The Cornell Seven Case and the Perils of Sexual Liberation

With consent as its only moderating principle, the sex-positivity movement invited a world of depravity.

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Students walk through Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., September 29, 2026.

Lauren Petracca/Reuters

The frat bros involved in the pending Cornell University sex abuse case are dirtbags — and many other epithets that I cannot use here. Let’s just get that out of the way. They are not necessarily criminals, however, even though the internet has condemned them as such in a knee-jerk reaction to the gross details that emerged this week.

On the night of October 19, 2024, and into the wee hours of the morning, seven male students engaged with one female student in an orgy, while all were evidently heavily inebriated and high on drugs. Two years after the woman signed off on an official statement, sent to the local New York district attorney, testifying that the debauchery that transpired was consensual, she has filed a complaint alleging rape.

Caroline Downey

About the Author

Caroline Downey

Caroline Downey is a staff writer for National Review.

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