Who Is Investigating You? What Cornell's State Police Move Means for the Accused
Cornell's decision to give the New York State Police a role in sexual assault investigations is a reminder that an accused student may face two investigations at once, under very different rules.
October 16, 2026 · 2 min read
By Jocelyn C. Stewart
The Associated Press reports that Cornell will give the New York State Police a role in investigating campus sexual assault reports, work that has generally fallen to Cornell's own police. Al Jazeera reports the aim is to hand that work to "independent, trauma-informed investigators." For an accused student, it is a reminder that more than one investigator may be asking questions, under very different rules.
Two investigations, one set of facts. The AP reports that a case can move through criminal court and the campus Title IX process at the same time. Cornell's procedures say the same: when a criminal investigation exists, the campus process runs concurrently with it (Section 15). In the Cornell case, the AP reports, a former student has sued alleging that seven fraternity members assaulted her. Those are allegations.
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