A sexual assault case has shaken Cornell University, and part of the professoriate is pressing for a symbolic censure vote against the administration. The case centers on a complaint filed by a former student over an alleged sexual assault that took place in 2024. New York's attorney general was named special prosecutor to investigate that complaint. The faculty's vote of censure is described as symbolic rather than binding. The dispute has put pressure on the university's leadership from within its own academic staff.