The Senate of USC’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) voted Tuesday on a resolution supporting the former Cornell student, identified in lawsuits as Jane Doe, and other sexual violence survivors. The resolution passed 12-0, as the student senate looks to ensure protection for those who report and protest, emphasize the school’s responsibility to student safety, and clarify the resources already available.
The resolution brought focus to the role universities play in ensuring the safety of their students, stating “USC and universities beyond Cornell maintain a moral obligation to protect their students and learn from peer institutions to ensure that similar events do not repeat themselves.”
The USG meeting comes amidst changes within Cornell’s own response to the allegations and student protests, according to NBC News.
In a statement Tuesday, Cornell University President Michael I. Kotlikoff announced a ban on all parties and social events for members of Cornell’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) houses for the remainder of the 2026-2027 school year. The letter announced three major changes the school is undertaking as they await findings from an independent review currently being conducted by former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.
The ban on IFC house parties and social gatherings falls under the first change: Strengthen campus safety. The ban has a zero-tolerance policy; any violation will result in the immediate emergency suspension of the IFC.
President Kotlikoff emphasized the importance of changing the social culture at Cornell.
“While this is not a problem unique to Cornell, we are committed to setting a higher standard for education, oversight, and enforcement of safe and social behavior and citizenship,” he wrote. “The time for meaningful and lasting change at Cornell, and at campuses across the country, is now.”
USG Senator Diane Kim authored the resolution as a way to bring change to USC’s campus.
“I think it’s been weighing on my heart and mine very heavily,” she said. “I just think that is so upsetting and deeply troubling, because victims already have such a hard time coming forward or saying anything at all or getting help, because of a fear of retaliation.”
The USG resolution also references the USC student protests in 2021 after reports of drugging and sexual assault at the Sigma Nu fraternity.
“Campus sexual violence is not merely pertinent to one university,” the resolution wrote.
It will be delivered to numerous members of USC administration, including University President Beong-Soo Kim, Chair of the USC Board of Trustees Suzanne Nora Johnson and Vice President for Student Life Monique S. Allard.
“I really want to emphasize to the USC administration that we should have incredible safety measures and protective measures to make sure that they want to stay anonymous, they stay anonymous, they don’t fear losing their academic standing, fear of absences, whatnot,” she said.
USC students can access confidential support through CARE-SC and a 24-hour hotline at (213) 740-9355 (WELL).
Edited by Andriana Yatsyshyn and Ally Nakamura.