After Cornell rape allegations, Albany weighs campus assault data and a fix to the 'voluntary intoxication' gap

The national outcry over a rape lawsuit at Cornell University is putting two changes to New York law on the table in Albany: a requirement that every college publish hard numbers on sexual assault, and a long-stalled bill that would change how the law treats victims who were intoxicated.

Counting what happens after a report

Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side and Hell's Kitchen, wants to expand the state's Enough is Enough law, a 2015 measure that requires colleges to adopt policies to prevent sexual assault, amNewYork reported Sunday. The outlet said the bill was introduced in the Assembly on Oct. 8. Rosenthal told Spectrum News she plans to push the proposal in the upcoming legislative session.

Today, colleges survey students every other year and post the results online. Rosenthal told amNewYork those surveys mostly measure what students know about campus policies, consent and how to report, not how often assaults happen. Her proposal would require schools to report how many sexual assaults are reported on each campus, who students report them to most often and what comes of those reports.

The reports from every public and private college would be posted on the state Education Department's website, Rosenthal told Spectrum News. "The law has not been updated in 11 years," she said.

The 'voluntary intoxication loophole'

A separate bill, S.10632/A.101, targets a gap advocates call the "voluntary intoxication loophole." Under current law, a person can be found unable to consent if they were drugged without their knowledge, but not if they chose to drink or take drugs and then became too impaired to say no, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said at an Oct. 1 news conference, amNewYork reported.

The bill would let prosecutors focus on whether a person was capable of consenting, and on whether the accused knew or reasonably should have known they were not, according to its Assembly sponsor, Jeffrey Dinowitz of the Bronx. It has passed the state Senate but remains in an Assembly committee, and would also need the governor's signature, amNewYork reported. A version of the bill has failed to clear the Legislature for seven years, City & State reported.

A working group of Assembly members appointed by Speaker Carl Heastie is set to meet in the coming weeks to recommend legislation, City & State reported.

The Cornell case

The push follows a civil lawsuit filed last month by an anonymous former Cornell student, known as Jane Doe, who alleges she was sexually assaulted by seven men at a Cornell fraternity house in October 2024, after drinking and taking drugs, City & State reported. The suit also claims the university failed to adequately punish the students, according to amNewYork. The allegations have not been proven in court.

The Tompkins County district attorney's office declined to bring charges two years ago, City & State reported, and the county's district attorney later reopened the criminal investigation, amNewYork reported.

The case has drawn protests on Cornell's campus, ABC7 New York reported, and in Manhattan, where demonstrators chanting "I Am Jane Doe" rallied at Foley Square, according to amNewYork.

Where to get help

The NYPD's 24-hour sex crimes hotline is 646-610-7272, amNewYork reported. Anyone in immediate danger should call 911.