The now infamous "Cornell 7" civil rape case involving Nova Southeastern University and possibly one of its currently enrolled students just took another South Florida twist.
It appears as if another South Florida university may have accepted Newell onto its campus.
The student accused of rape, Jonathan Newell of Davie, Florida, who graduated from the NSU University School back in 2023, is said to have previously been enrolled at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) before allegedly enrolling at NSU.
According to a source who asked The Floridian not to use his or her name, Newell enrolled and took classes at FAU before enrolling at NSU.
We haven't been able to confirm that Newell is a student at NSU or that he first attended FAU, but we have requested Newell's official college transcripts.
In response to our request for comment, FAU stated that Newell was "not currently enrolled in classes," but didn't say if he was previously enrolled at the school.
“The individual is not currently enrolled in classes. The university does not disclose information from a student’s education records except as authorized under federal law by FERPA, applicable Florida laws, and university regulations," stated Joshua Glanzer, Associate Vice President of FAU's Media Relations.
FAU’s own policy lists “dates of attendance” as directory information that can generally be released without a student’s consent. Florida Atlantic University did not explicitly deny Newell attended there before enrolling at NSU. Unless Newell opted out of disclosure while enrolled at FAU, federal privacy rules generally would permit FAU to release those dates, though they do not compel disclosure. Whether Newell requested that restriction is unknown.
Background
Newell and six of his fellow Cornell University Chi Phi fraternity members were named in a Jane Doe sexual assault lawsuit filed in New York State. According to the official complaint, the fraternity members pressured the victim into taking Ketamine before being gang raped.
The Backlash
NSU has been broadsided by an avalanche of negative social media posts condemning the school for allegedly allowing Newell to enroll and attend classes. In reviewing many of those postings, Newell and his father appear to have been doxxed, or their home address in Davie was made public.
According to the address listed in those social media postings, and according to Florida voter records, a Jonathan Newell, age 21, recently registered to vote as a Democrat on October 7. The same Davie, Florida address in question lists 53-year-old Darin Lawrence Newell as also being registered to vote there.
NSU all but Says Newell is a Student
NSU appears to be legally handcuffed from openly and officially confirming that Newell is enrolled at the private college. In a recent statement attributed to NSU President and CEO Harry Moon, the school only goes as far as to say that there "may involve a student who later transferred to NSU."
“At the time of admission, the university was not aware of allegations subsequently reported in media,” the statement said. “Once we learned of the reported incident, we acted immediately on behalf of the safety and well-being of our students and the NSU community. Because this matter involves federal law regarding an individual student, the university is legally restricted by federal regulations that limit what the university can share.”
