Classroom Teacher and UFT Chapter Leader Leah Lin shares her thoughts on the Cornell 7, institutional power structures, and the frat culture that exists among UFT leadership.
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The allegations surrounding the Cornell 7 case have raised serious questions about institutional culture, misogyny, power, and accountability. In a civil lawsuit, a woman identified as Jane Doe alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members at Cornell University. According to Reuters, prosecutors reopened the criminal investigation, with allegations being presented to a grand jury. Several accused men have denied wrongdoing.
While the allegations at Cornell are significantly different in nature and severity, the broader conversation about institutional culture immediately reminded me of what happened to UFT member Amy Arundell after she challenged Michael Mulgrew for the UFT presidency.
Following that election, laminated images of Arundell’s face accompanied by the degrading phrase, “Piss on my face” were reportedly placed in urinals inside the men’s bathroom at UFT headquarters during a monthly UFT Delegate Assembly. An investigation was conducted by a lawyer retained by UFT leadership, but the investigator reportedly could not identify the person responsible.
These incidents should not be equated. However, they raise an important question about the environments institutions create and tolerate. What happens when loyalty, power, and protecting institutional leadership become more important than dignity, accountability, and the willingness to confront misconduct?
For me, the concern extends beyond identifying who placed those images in the bathroom. It is about understanding what kind of union culture allows someone to feel comfortable sexually humiliating a woman who challenged our union’s leadership. What message does that send to other women considering running for office, questioning leadership, or challenging the status quo?
I am not suggesting that Michael Mulgrew personally participated in or directed that incident. There is no evidence presented here establishing that. However, leadership has a responsibility to address the culture within the institution it leads. That includes explaining what changes were made, what safeguards were implemented, and how members can challenge leadership without fear of humiliation, intimidation or retaliation.
The Cornell case and the incident at the UFT Delegate Assembly also raise broader questions about how institutional leaders respond when their reputations are threatened. Do they confront uncomfortable allegations transparently, or does self-preservation take priority? These are questions worth asking of universities, fraternities, unions, and any organization where power and loyalty can discourage people from speaking out.
Our UFT’s national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has previously promoted labor education collaborations involving Cornell’s Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) School. That connection does not establish involvement in the Cornell 7 allegations, but it reinforces why labor organizations should be willing to participate in difficult conversations about institutional accountability.
Unions regularly demand transparency, fairness, and accountability from employers. We should expect those same principles within our own organizations.
Women should be able to challenge power without being sexually humiliated. Members should be able to disagree without fearing retaliation. And leadership should never demand loyalty at the expense of dignity.
The central lesson is not that these two incidents are equivalent. It is that institutional culture matters, particularly when people challenge those who hold power.
If we expect institutions to confront misconduct and protect those who speak up, our own union must be willing to hold itself to that same standard.
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So, when one nut job does something stupid or hateful, we should tar all the members of his group with the same brush ! ? Isn't that how discrimination and race hatred start and grow?
This happened in our own union hall and no one was held accountable. It's disgraceful.