Cornell is investigating a report that male, first-year Cornell Law School students ranked female first-year students on their appearance in a private group chat, according to an email from the school’s dean.
Dean Eduardo M. Peñalver ’94 on Oct. 5 said in an email to law students that Cornell’s Title IX Office is investigating the reported behavior. He said that “ranking women on their appearance is inherently degrading,” adding that it was “childish and unprofessional.”
Peñalver asked lawyering faculty, who teach first-year law students, and section instructors to talk to their students about the reported group chat and to tell students that, if true, “the behavior may well violate” the University’s Policy 6.4, which outlines discrimination, sexual harassment and other conduct prohibited by Cornell.
A Cornell spokesperson, John Carberry, said the University cannot comment on an active Title IX investigation.
In a statement to The Sun, Peñalver said “Cornell Law School is committed to providing all of our students with a welcoming and inclusive environment.”
“We have asked our students to support this effort, and are confident we will both sort through the facts in this situation and be able to work with the University to apply the appropriate remedies,” the dean wrote.
Peñalver urged students to use Cornell’s Bias Reporting System to report any information that could help the Title IX Office’s investigation.
Women comprise 52.5 percent of the law school’s first-year class, but Emily Szopinski, a second-year law student, said “it is clear that there is still a culture of sexism within this profession and our community that needs to be addressed.”
“Members of Cornell Law School will go on to be leaders in their communities and their profession,” said Szopinski, president of the Women’s Law Coalition at Cornell. “This type of behavior has concerning implications for the future positions of power that Cornell Law students have the potential to hold.”
Szopinski said she first learned of the report on Sept. 26 and that faculty members began discussing the report with students on Sept. 28.
Ryan Norton, a second-year law student, said it was good, but unusual, that Peñalver had acknowledged the reported behavior in a public email.
“Normally the law school administration handles things quietly,” Norton said. “The general consensus is that the relevant people can be punished without having to let everyone know about it.”
Norton also noted that students began learning of the incident in the same week that Palo Alto University Prof. Christine Blasey Ford testified that Brett Kavanaugh, now a Supreme Court justice, had sexually assaulted and tried to rape her at a party when they were both in high school.
Students’ reported behavior in the group chat is “utterly repugnant to the unified front the law school community has taken in that regard,” Norton said, pointing to an open letterin The New York Times that was signed by more than 2,400 law professors — including 19 at Cornell — urging the Senate not to confirm Kavanaugh.
“I think that these circumstances highlighted how awful it is that there was a group chat among Cornell Law students dedicated to demeaning women,” Norton said.
Date: October 14th, 2018 12:24 PM Author: Indigo pit main people
Students’ reported behavior in the group chat is “utterly repugnant to the unified front the law school community has taken in that regard,” Norton said, pointing to an open letterin The New York Times that was signed by more than 2,400 law professors — including 19 at Cornell — urging the Senate not to confirm Kavanaugh.
“I think that these circumstances highlighted how awful it is that there was a group chat among Cornell Law students dedicated to demeaning women,” Norton said.
Date: October 14th, 2018 1:26 PM Author: splenetic senate
We had a top 5 ranking that was updated over the year. Also, had "top butterface" and "guess her weight." This is getting a little out of hand. Female law students had the same shit.
Hey everyone, I'm Emily! I am 22 years old and I am from Buffalo, NY. I have lived in Pittsburgh for the last four years as I study political science and sociology at the University of Pittsburgh. In the fall, I will be attending Cornell University for law school where I hope to pursue a career in public interest law. I graduate from Pitt at the end of April and head out to start this great adventure just a few days later!
I have been active in a few Pittsburgh non-profits, including the Women’s Law Project and The Center for Women. My experience with these organizations have made me acutely aware of the need for affordable housing in the City of Pittsburgh. Working with The Center for Women has allowed me to work with and learn the stories of women who are recently divorced, separated, widowed, or find themselves in the midst of a life transition. Many of these women find themselves with serious housing concerns, often because of the lack of affordable housing in Pittsburgh. Through the Women’s Law Project, I learned about the effect of the housing crisis on Downtown Pittsburgh. Although the city is making an effort to build more affordable housing, they are largely ignoring the needs of extremely low income individuals. They have avoided building affordable housing for the lowest income individuals and have displaced low income individuals in favor of new projects (gentrification!) in the past few years. While Pittsburgh is usually considered an affordable city, it is lacking accessible housing for low income individuals in a number of areas. Learning about this crisis and working with individuals who are directly hurt by it has inspired me to make a difference in this cause. After law school, I know I want to work in public service, likely in public policy. I am eager to learn about how the housing crisis affects people around the country in different ways. I think the best way to learn how to improve the lives of others through policy and change is by understanding different perspectives.
With Bike & Build, I am excited to learn about the outlooks of my other teammates and those we meet along the way. While biking, I am looking forward to experiencing the different landscapes of the country--deserts, mountains, forests, suburbs and cities. I am especially excited to find some swimming holes, trails, and hidden gems in each town. Coming from a small town myself, I know that talking to locals can help to uncover the secrets of any place. I’m nervous to embark on this adventure on my own, but am excited to meet and work with a new cohort of people. Most of all, I am excited to experience the beauty of the country from the seat of my bike!
Look. Almost all the assholes posting in this thread have no shot of attending Cornell LawSchool, and dream about dating a chick who goes to law school there