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Granite State college students enjoy greater freedom of speech at the University of New Hampshire than their peers at the prestigious Ivy League school, Dartmouth College.

The annual college rankings released this week by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, puts UNH third nationally, trailing only Michigan Tech and Auburn.

UNH President James W. “Jim” Dean Jr. said the school takes its responsibility to foster speech seriously.

“Free speech is one of the most fundamental American constitutional rights. As a public university, UNH protects and promotes this value by ensuring our students can be exposed to new and different ideas that will hopefully inspire growth and intellectual curiosity,” Dean said. “This new report from FIRE validates the work we have done and will continue to do to foster an environment where free speech can flourish.”

Meanwhile, Dartmouth, one of the most exclusive — and expensive — colleges in America, ranks near the bottom: 240 out of 248.

That’s a major drop-off for Dartmouth, which came in at 63 in 2021 and 83 in 2022.

According to data compiled by FIRE, a big reason behind that wide gap is UNH students don’t think it is acceptable to shut down controversial speakers, while Dartmouth students are OK with censorship.

FIRE’s Director of Polling and Analytics, Sean Stevens, said students at elite schools like Dartmouth, Harvard University (248), Northwestern (242), and Georgetown (245) are more inclined to prevent speakers they don’t like from being heard on campus The common denominator is those schools are predominately liberal

“There’s this elite culture to be tolerant, but most of those schools do poorly on the disruptive conduct survey,” Stevens said. 

As part of the review process, students were surveyed about how comfortable they felt speaking about controversial topics on campus and in class. They were also asked if shutting down speakers through protest, disruption, or even violence was ever acceptable.

“As you get more and more liberal on the spectrum (the students) are more likely to say those things are at least rarely acceptable,” Stevens said.

One of the findings: Many college students think shouting down a speaker is acceptable behavior, even at schools that rank highly. At UNH, just 44 percent of students said shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is always unacceptable. 

At Dartmouth, however, that dropped to 26 percent, meaning most students believe in stopping speakers they don’t like. That comes as no surprise to center-right students at Dartmouth. 

Last year, conservative journalist Andy Ngo’s scheduled in-person appearance at Dartmouth was canceled after a deluge of online threats from leftwing opponents. In 2020, more leftist threats of violence forced the cancellation of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Corky Messner’s scheduled speech on the need for border security to halt the flow of opioids into the U.S.

Stevens cited the Ngo and Messner events as reasons for Dartmouth’s poor ranking.

“They can’t undo the disinvitations, but they can do better,” Stevens said.

In contrast, UNH stood by a controversial group over objections from liberal students, Stevens said. In March, students staged a walkout after the Christian Legal Society student group planned a vigil for victims of a Tennessee school shooting. UNH liberal activists accused the Christian group of engaging in anti-transgender hate. The Tennessee shooter identified as transgender.

UNH also announced Wednesday that Dean is retiring as president on June 30, 2024.

Progressive social media star and former Dartmouth College student Jack Cocchiarella is settling the lawsuit he brought against one-time classmate Nathan Kim over allegations that Cocchiarella was a serial rapist. 

Lawyers for Cocchiarella and Kim informed the United States District Court in Concord last month they had reached an agreement through mediation sessions in December. The sides now have until Jan. 20 to file the settlement agreement in the federal court, which would include a stipulation that the case be dismissed.

The lawsuit accused Kim of spreading stories online that Cocchiarella raped and sexually assaulted women while he was a student at the Ivy League school. Cocchiarella has denied all accusations of sexual impropriety.

Cocchiarella claims Kim started an online harassment campaign using anonymous accounts on various social media platforms accusing Cocchiarella of rape.

“Kim individually and in concert with others has continued to propagate and publish the false statements and lies that Jack is a ‘rapist,’ ‘raped his classmates,’ ‘raped 6 women,’ ‘raped 8 women,’ ‘raped unconscious girls,’ and is ‘getting away with rape,’” the lawsuit stated.

The negative attention stirred by Kim’s posts threatened Cocchiarella’s lucrative political work, tarnished his reputation as he transfers to Columbia University, and even caused threats according to the lawsuit.

“To this day, Jack lives in fear for his life and safety as a result of the false statements and lies being spread by Kim,” the lawsuit states.

Cocchiarella’s attorney, Susan Stone, told NH Journal in August her client is innocent of any sexual violence.

“To be clear, Jack has never been accused of sexual assault and he has never been subject of a criminal or Title IX campus investigation,” Stone wrote in a letter to NH Journal. “He vehemently denies that he was subject to those allegations.”

The lawsuit claimed Kim’s harassment started after Cocchiarella confronted Congressman Madison Cawthorn when the North Carolina Republican appeared at Dartmouth College along with congressional candidate Karoline Leavitt.

Cocchiarella’s video of his confrontation with Cawthorn went viral and helped propel the student into a progressive influencer. Cocchiarella used his online fame to get high-profile political consulting jobs with Democrats like Florida’s Charlie Crist and Georgia’s Marcus Flowers.

According to a report in the Free Beacon, Crist’s campaign paid Cocchiarella’s consulting firm $2,250 for digital consulting. It got another $40,000 from the Flowers campaign. 

Cocchiarella also appeared on a YouTube television show for the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump political action committee founded by alleged sexual predator John Weaver. Cocchiarella was on the show to plug his own political podcast, Zoomed In.

Accusations against Cocchiarella came to light in August, when NHJournal spoke to one woman who claimed to have been harassed by the rising political star. The woman said Cocchiarella sexually harassed her and inappropriately touched her, earning Cocchiarella a letter from Dartmouth’s Title IX Office laying out a disciplinary course of action, and threatening further sanctions if Cocchiarella did not comply. The copy obtained by NHJournal included Cocchiarella’s apparent signature.

His behavior deteriorated over the course of a few weeks into stalking-type behavior and included unwanted touching, she said.

“What was scary is he said a lot of really misogynistic things,” she said.

The woman said Cocchiarella used his reputation as a progressive, feminist-ally in order to get close. At the same time, his actions frightened her, she said.

“How does he have this platform as a feminist?” she asked.

While NHJournal was reporting the story in August, the Dartmouth College Democrats Twitter account published a tweet claiming Cocchiarella was kicked out of the club in 2021 when several allegations became known on campus. The club later deleted that tweet, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed Cocchiarella had been expelled from the club over the allegations.

The club later published a follow-up disavowing any use of the tweet about Cocchiarella.

Cocchiarella has denied all wrongdoing and further claims he has never been investigated by Dartmouth’s Title IX Office.

If the Democrats had a secret weapon Tuesday during their surprise showing for the midterms, it may have been young voters acting as a seawall against the anticipated “Red Wave.” And that was especially true in the Granite State.

Votes are still being counted, but instead of handily losing control of both houses of Congress as expected, Democrats may be a few seats behind the GOP in the House and have a realistic chance of maintaining the current 50-50 tie in the Senate.

They were so key to the Democrats’ success, President Joe Biden gave Gen Z voters a shoutout during Wednesday’s post-election presser.

“I especially want to thank the young people of this nation,” Biden said during his White House remarks. “They voted to continue addressing the climate crisis, gun violence, their personal rights and freedoms, and student debt relief.”

In the fight for the state legislature, Gen Z voters helped cut the size of the GOP House majority down to just 203-197 — before recounts. Republicans, like House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn), said they are confident their majority will hold. “The voters of New Hampshire have spoken and have sent Republicans back into the majority in the House for the 2023-2024 term,” he said in a statement.

But the final outcome will be directly impacted by the youth vote.

Democrat-aligned organizations spent millions focusing on mobilizing the youth vote. One of those groups, NextGen America, spent $25 million on the election, according to its president, Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez. Those voters were natural targets for the continual messaging on abortion and fighting extremism from the Hassan, Kuster, and Pappas campaigns.

“Young people are relentlessly committed to building the infrastructure needed to harness the full power and potential of the largest and most diverse generation in American history,” Tzintzún Ramirez said. “From abortion access to economic justice, young people recognized the stakes and mobilized to address some of the most challenging issues our country has ever faced. Young people just sent a clear message: The future belongs to us–and there’s no room for hatred, greed, or fear in the country we will continue to build.” 

Part of NextGen’s plan was to find voters on college campuses, targeting 245 colleges nationwide. The group used direct mail, texts, calls, and influencers to reach close to 10 million young voters ahead of Tuesday’s election. The success was evident in Tuesday’s results.

“Our initial data from Youth Vote Indicator Precincts shows that young people NextGen registered or pledged to vote turned out at 6 points higher than young people overall during the early voting period. And early turnout among young voters in precincts organized by NextGen exceeded nationwide averages,” Tzintzún Ramirez said. 

In college towns like Durham, home of the University of New Hampshire, and Hanover, home to the Ivy League’s Dartmouth College, college students surged to the polls. The Granite State has the highest percentage of college students in its population in the country.

According to Durham officials, 1,446 people registered to vote on Tuesday, out of more than 5,900 total ballots cast. Most of those new voters were UNH students. As a result, Democrats won big. Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Chris Pappas scored nearly 4 to 1 margins over Republicans Don Bolduc and Karoline Leavitt respectively.

Carson Hansford, president of the UNH College Republicans, said the state party put time and money into getting out the vote in Durham, but could not match the intensity of the young Democrats.

“College campuses tend to be more liberal. That was proven again last night,” Hansford said.

In Hanover, close to 800 people registered to vote on Tuesday, again mostly students from Hanover, according to town officials. Griffin Mackey, a conservative Dartmouth student with the Dartmouth College Republicans, said voter sentiment in towns like Hanover did not reflect the reality of the rest of the state. Dartmouth students largely come from wealthy families that already skew liberal, he said.

“Dartmouth students are 1) not from New Hampshire and generally do not engage with the local community beyond their campus; 2) do not pay for food or rent, and 3) do not have cars or pay for gas,” Mackey said. “How on earth could Gen. Don Bolduc, or any other conservative candidate for that matter, appeal to those students?”

According to national exit polls, 63 percent of Gen Z and Millennial voters, aged 18 to 29, voted for Democrats. Just 35 percent backed the GOP.

Bolduc focused on economic issues impacting working families, like “heating or eating,” and most other GOP candidates hit the economy, record high inflation, and soaring fuel costs as part of their campaigns. Mackey said messages about economic insecurity generally fell on deaf ears in affluent Hanover.

“This is a foreign concept for many Dartmouth students who believe that the fossil fuel industry is evil and who want everyone to be vegan,” Mackey said.

Jack Cocchiarella, the progressive Gen Z Democratic activist accused of sexual harassment, is now suing a Dartmouth College student for allegedly spreading rumors about sexual assaults online. 

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court in Concord, targets Dartmouth student Nathan Kim. It claims Kim spread false stories online about Cocchiarella raping and assaulting several women on campus.

Cocchiarella, who has done paid political consulting for Democrats like Florida’s Charlie Crist and Georgia’s Marcus Flowers, has denied all accusations of any sexual impropriety. Cocchiarella further claims he has never been investigated by Dartmouth’s Title IX Office.

NHJournal spoke to one woman who said Cocchiarella sexually harassed her and inappropriately touched her. That incident resulted in Cocchiarella receiving a letter from Dartmouth’s Title IX Office laying out a disciplinary course of action and threatening further sanctions if Cocchiarella did not comply. The copy obtained by NHJournal included what appeared to be Cocchiarella’s signature.

As rumors about Cocchiarella swirled online last summer, the Dartmouth Democrats Twitter account published a tweet claiming Cocchiarella was kicked out of the club due to multiple allegations of sexual assault. That tweet was later taken down and the club issued a statement saying that it did not condone the use of the tweet. NHJournal contacted a source close to the situation who confirmed Cocchiarella was in fact kicked out over the accusations. 

Kim’s attorney, Benjamin King of Concord-based Douglas, Leonard & Garvey, declined to comment on the specific allegations laid out in the lawsuit.

Cocchiarella’s lawsuit alleges Kim started an online harassment campaign using anonymous accounts on various social media platforms accusing Cocchiarella of rape as he was gaining fame for his progressive views.

“Kim individually and in concert with others has continued to propagate and publish the false statements and lies that Jack is a ‘rapist,’ ‘raped his classmates,’ ‘raped 6 women,’ ‘raped 8 women,’ ‘raped unconscious girls,’ and is ‘getting away with rape,’” the lawsuit states.

The negative attention stirred by Kim’s posts has threatened Cocchiarella’s lucrative political career, tarnished his reputation as he transfers to Columbia University, and even caused threats according to the lawsuit.

“To this day, Jack lives in fear for his life and safety as a result of the false statements and lies being spread by Kim,” the lawsuit states.

Cocchiarella’s attorney, Susan Stone, told NHJournal in August her client is innocent of any sexual violence.

“To be clear, Jack has never been accused of sexual assault, and he has never been the subject of a criminal or Title IX campus investigation,” Stone wrote in a letter to NHJournal. “He vehemently denies that he was subject to those allegations.”

The lawsuit claims Kim’s harassment started after Cocchiarella confronted Congressman Madison Cawthorn when the North Carolina Republican made an appearance at Dartmouth College along with Republican congressional candidate Karoline Leavitt.

Cocchiarella’s video of his confrontation with Cawthorn went viral and helped propel Cocchiarella into becoming a progressive influencer. According to a report in the Free Beacon, Crist’s campaign has since paid Cocchiarella’s firm $2,250 for digital consulting. His firm got another $40,000 from the Flowers’ campaign. 

Cocchiarella also appeared on a YouTube television show for the Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump political action committee founded by alleged sexual predator John Weaver. Cocchiarella was on the show to plug his own political podcast, Zoomed In.

The alleged victim who spoke to NHJournal said Cocchiarella used his status as a male feminist and progressive to ingratiate himself to her. His behavior deteriorated over a few weeks into stalking-type behavior and included unwanted touching.

“What was scary is he said a lot of really misogynistic things,” she said.

The woman told NHJournal she was shocked by Cocchiarella’s online persona as a feminist ally and progressive fighter when she feared him.

“How does he have this platform as a feminist?” she said.

Dartmouth College’s standing as a campus that supports diversity of opinion and expression fell again this year, down 20 places in the newest ranking of campus free speech from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

Earlier this month, FIRE released its findings from “the largest survey on student free expression ever conducted.”

“That so many students are self-silencing and silencing each other is an indictment of campus culture,” said FIRE Senior Research Fellow Sean Stevens. “How can students develop their distinct voices and ideas in college if they’re too afraid to engage with each other?”

Or, as the report concluded, “Sayonara, debate and disagreement; hello, campus kumbaya.”

New Hampshire’s Ivy League school pulled a Gentleman’s C in last year’s ranking, coming in at number 63 in the nation. But this year, Dartmouth dropped even lower, to number 83 — below the state universities of Idaho, Indiana, and Alabama.

And while the University of New Hampshire fares far better at number 16, which was a drop from number three last year.

“The University of New Hampshire remains steadfast in its commitment to the principles of free speech and academic freedom and are pleased to know FIRE recognizes our work to protect these freedoms while encouraging openness and civility,” said Erika Mantz, executive director for UNH Media Relations.

FIRE reports college students and faculty at schools across the country face extreme challenges to the free expression of ideas.

“Alarming proportions of students self-censor, report worry or discomfort about expressing their ideas in a variety of contexts, find controversial ideas hard to discuss, show intolerance for controversial speakers, find their administrations unclear or worse regarding support for free speech, and even report that disruption of events or violence are, to some degree, acceptable tactics for shutting down the speech of others,” the report states.

Dartmouth’s administration did not respond to a request for comment, but students who anonymously reported to FIRE say the school campus is ruled by “mob mentality” and students live in ideological echo chambers. According to FIRE, for every one conservative student, there are roughly 4.3 liberal students.

“Mob mentality situations occur all the time in a small campus like Dartmouth. From minimal things to huge issues, there is a main way of thinking that if you do not conform to, you are alienated,” one student said.

Another student said they feel uncomfortable confronting the racism they experience at the school.

“I am a person of color who often has to hear White people make comments that come off as tone deaf or performative and I do not feel comfortable saying something about it,” the student said.

One student told FIRE they are unable to express their support for the nation of Israel due to fears over anti-semitism.

“Sometimes feel stigma against saying that I support Israel. People paint it as being against human rights and I’ve personally seen antisemitism attached to the subject occur on college campuses,” the student said.

According to FIRE’s report, only 27 percent of Dartmouth students say shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is never acceptable. At UNH, that number is 44 percent. Both represent a minority of students.

FIRE’s Vice President of Research, Adam Goldstein, said schools need to set the example early in the school year that free speech is the norm on campus.

“FIRE’s top-ranked school, the University of Chicago, starts by sending letters to incoming students explaining the value of free expression,” Goldstein said. “Reinforcing those messages through orientation programs and official policy statements makes sure the message lands. Reforming any anti-speech policies, like restrictive protest or internet use policies, will show students that the administration is walking the walk. And FIRE is ready to help with all of that.”

FIRE got involved at Dartmouth last year after allied threats of protestors shut down a planned speech by conservative speaker Andy Ngo at Dartmouth College.

Dartmouth canceled the Jan. 20 event hosted by the campus chapters of the College Republicans, Turning Point USA, and Network of Enlightened Women, forcing it online because of unspecified “concerning information” from the Hanover police.

However, documents obtained by both NH Journal and FIRE indicate police never thought that the planned protest presented a credible threat.

Hanover Police Chief Charlie Dennis told FIRE in a letter that his department “did not make a recommendation to Dartmouth College regarding the January 20th event.”

Dartmouth responded to the controversy by charging the Dartmouth College Republicans Club a $3,600 security bill.

Goldstein said students should know they have options to protect their speech, and that FIRE will help.

“Students who feel their rights aren’t being respected can call FIRE for help–that’s the easy answer here and it’s never the wrong answer because even if we can’t help in a specific situation, we might have some ideas about who can. But generally speaking, the first step is going to be to go to the administrator, board, or student group that’s not respecting those rights and ask them to reconsider,” he said. “Most speech restraints are created by well-intentioned people focused on something other than freedom of speech and bringing speech to their attention can go a long way.”

A lawyer for Gen Z political social-media star Jack Cocchiarella, reportedly kicked out of the Dartmouth Democrats after several sexual assault accusations surfaced last year, told NHJournal Cocchiarella denied the story.

“To be clear, Jack has never been accused of sexual assault, and he has never been (the) subject of a criminal or Title IX campus investigation,” Cocchiarella’s attorney Susan Stone wrote to NHJournal. “He vehemently denies that he was subject to those allegations.”

Stone sent a letter to NHJournal this week asking the news outlet to publish a Cocchiarella-written op-ed so he can make his case disputing the allegations. Before NHJournal had a chance to respond to Stone’s letter, however, an assistant to Stone asked that the letter be “recalled.” No explanation was provided. 

Cocchiarella has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the story. NHJournal has invited the Democratic activist to appear on the outlet’s podcast to address the allegations.

NHJournal spoke to one woman who says she was sexually harassed by Cocchiarella last year. Despite Cocchiarella’s denials, she provided NHJournal with a copy of a letter from the Ivy League school’s Title IX office to Cocchiarella detailing her allegations. The letter handed down a form of discipline against Cocchiarella and threatened him with further action. Cocchiarella’s signature is on the letter obtained by NHJournal.

Stone claims that not only has there never been any investigation, but Cocchiarella left Dartmouth in good standing.

The woman who complained to Dartmouth’s Title IX office about Cocchiarella’s sexual harassment said this week she could not believe Cocchiarella is persisting in denials, calling them ridiculous.

“I honestly am speechless about it all,” the woman said. “Also, very interesting they’re claiming that Dartmouth has no record of a Title IX investigation as that is so categorically untrue.”

Stone’s letter claimed Cocchiarella was never investigated for sexual assault, and that the accusations stem from a political trolling operation to harm him as he gained fame for his progressive advocacy.

“Since October of last year, Jack has been the victim of political trolling,” Stone wrote. “As the (NHJournal) article observed, Jack has built a strong political platform, and he personally confronted Congressman Madison Cawthorn when Cawthorn appeared at Dartmouth. Two days after that very public confrontation, the false reports of sexual assault allegations (that never existed) against Jack began to appear online.”

Stone also disputed the claim that Cocchiarella was kicked out of the Dartmouth Democrats after the sexual assault allegations became known on campus. She claimed the tweet from the Dartmouth Democrats’ account stating Cocchiarella was kicked out because of the accusations was later deleted.

NHJournal contacted a source close to the situation who confirmed that Cocchiarella was in fact kicked out over the accusations.

UPDATE: This week, the Dartmouth Democrats Twitter account put out a statement distancing the group from the tweet in question, though the statement falls short of a denial:

“The @DartDems deleted a Tweet about Jack Cocchiarella that had been posted on July 28th, 2022 to their Twitter account. The Dartmouth Dems do not condone any use of that deleted Tweet.”

Stone claimed Cocchiarella had been subject to death threats in the wake of the accusations. She claimed “authorities” were working with Cocchiarella to uncover who was behind the accusations, but failed to say if that meant a law enforcement agency of any kind.

“The false reports have been devastating to Jack. He has been doxed and his life is being threatened. Jack has also suffered damage to his reputation,” Stone wrote.

Cocchiarella transferred from Dartmouth to Columbia University in recent months, and Stone said the accusation would make it hard for him to safely transition to another school.

It was not clear what impact the accusations have had on Cocchiarella’s professional life. As a rising star in the liberal media, Cocchiarella appears on podcasts and television shows. He also earns thousands as a Gen Z digital consultant for the likes of Georgia’s Marcus Flowers, the Democrat running against Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Florida Congressman Charlie Crist, who recently won the Democratic primary to take on Gov. Ron DeSantis in the fall.

Jack Cocchiarella is a rising star in Democratic politics, earning thousands as a “Gen Z”  digital strategist for the likes of Florida gubernatorial candidate Rep. Charlie Crist and Marcus Flowers, running against Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene in Georgia.

Cocchiarella also has a secret. He was kicked out of the Dartmouth College Democrats last year after serious accusations of abusive behavior toward women began circulating. 

Jack Cocchiarella (far right) meets President Joe Biden.

Cocchiarella has built a mini-media empire with podcasts and high-traffic social media accounts. He is a Twitter Super Follow with more than 250,000 followers, another 15,000 on Instagram, and almost 20,000 on TikTok.  Cocchiarella uses his platform to push Democratic talking points and praise politicians like President Joe Biden and Texas’s Beto O’Roarke.

Cocchiarella went viral last year when he filmed himself confronting Congressman Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), during the congressman’s appearance at Dartmouth College.

He has since gone viral in a less-flattering way. The Washington Free Beacon reports on a string of December 2021 Reddit posts that accused Cocchiarella of using “his Twitter notoriety and left-wing credentials to position himself as an ally. Then, once people let their guards down, he rapes them.”

NHJournal verified the college disciplined him for at least one instance of allegedly abusive behavior. NHJournal spoke to an alleged victim who provided documents about the incident, including a letter warning Cocchiarella that he could be suspended for violating the school’s Sexual and Gender-based Misconduct Policy.

NH Journal is not reporting the name of the alleged victim to protect her identity. She told the Journal that Cocchiarella groped her on one occasion and attempted to touch her on several other occasions before she reported him to the school’s Title IX office.

She said Cocchiarella was friendly at first, but his behavior turned into stalking over a few weeks. His actions became progressively more inappropriate.  She started to feel unsafe around Cocchiarella and decided to go to the Title IX office. 

“What was scary is he said a lot of really misogynistic things,” she said.

The woman is still shocked by Cocchiarella’s online persona as a feminist ally and progressive fighter when in reality she was scared of him.

“How does he have this platform as a feminist,” she said.

College officials declined to comment for this story. Cocchiarella did not respond to several requests for comment.

Cocchiarella is no longer a student at Dartmouth. He recently confirmed in an Aug. 1 podcast that he had switched Ivy League schools and is now a student at Columbia University.

Late last month, Twitter users started tweeting at Cocchiarella about the allegations of sexual misconduct. Many accusers have been telling their stories online for months in forums for Dartmouth students as Cocchiarella started to gain fame for his liberal activism.

The Dartmouth College Democrats Twitter account published a tweet claiming Cocchiarella was kicked out of the club last year when several allegations became known on campus. The club later deleted that tweet, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed to NH Journal that Cocchiarella had been kicked out of the club because of the allegations. 

The Free Bacon also notes Cocchiarella appeared on a YouTube television show for the Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump political action committee founded by alleged sexual predator John Weaver. Cocchiarella was on the show to plug his own political podcast, Zoomed In.

Dartmouth College has a dark history of sexual misconduct on campus. Three years ago, the school paid a $14 million settlement to women who claimed they were sexually assaulted and harassed by three professors. 

The school’s fraternity culture has also gained notoriety. One fraternity served as a model for the one depicted in the 1978 movie “Animal House.” The fraternities were also the center of recent hazing scandals.

The free speech non-profit FIRE says Southern New Hampshire University is trying to throttle free speech on campus with its new policy of reviewing and approving all invited speakers to the school. 

When the new president of the Southern New Hampshire University College Republicans Kyle Urban asked the school how to invite conservative speakers to campus, he was told all speakers had to be vetted by the college first to ensure the invitees “are not so controversial that they would draw unwanted demonstrators to campus.” University administrators explained to Urban that the school “invite[s] discussion as long as it is friendly.”

Philadelphia-based FIRE is now involved, calling on the school to live up to its own free speech policies.

“SNHU thus betrays its own free expression promises by demanding prior review of speakers. To be clear, ‘expression is not free when authorities must approve of the speakers and viewpoints expressed,” FIRE’s Sabrina Conza wrote this week to SNHU’s Associate General Counsel Even Lowery.

According to Conza, Urban asked administrators about inviting speakers, expecting information about the mechanics of bringing people to the school to exchange ideas in public. Instead, Urban was told the school staff must “substantively” review and approve all proposed speakers before they are invited.

Conza says SNHU is now violating the promise it makes to students to protect free speech on campus.

“SNHU unequivocally promises students an environment which sustains the ‘ideals of freedom of inquiry, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of the individual,’” Conza writes. “Having made those strong promises, the university may not lay them aside when the expression in question could lead to controversy.”

Conza wrote the approval process would only serve to prevent people from being invited by students or faculty to speak on campus, for fear of offending any group and causing protest.

“SNHU said it is ‘confident’ its ‘policies for speakers and political events on campus are compliant with both state and federal laws and allow for the free flow of information and ideas,’” Conza writes. “FIRE is far less confident.”

FIRE got involved last year after allied threats of protestors shut down a planned speech by conservative speaker Andy Ngo at Dartmouth College.

Dartmouth canceled the Jan. 20 event hosted by the campus chapters of the College Republicans, Turning Point USA, and Network of Enlightened Women, forcing it online based on unspecified “concerning information” from the Hanover police.

However, documents obtained by both NH Journal and FIRE indicate police never thought the planned protest presented a credible threat.

Hanover Police Chief Charlie Dennis told FIRE in a letter that his department “did not make a recommendation to Dartmouth College regarding the January 20th event.”

Dartmouth responded to the controversy by charging the Dartmouth College Republicans Club a $3,600 security bill.

Conza said that when college administrators decide who is allowed to speak, the free exchange of ideas is harmed.  

“When university officials determine which views are worth sharing, as SNHU administrators claim the authority to do here, students and faculty will invite fewer speakers to campus. In turn, fewer controversial and non-controversial speakers will come, and fewer viewpoints will be shared, all to the detriment of the campus community. We once again urge SNHU to reverse course,” Conza wrote.

If Wendy Long decides to jump into the already crowded GOP primary race for the U.S. Senate, she’ll do so with two landslide losses in previous Senate races on her record, allegations she attended the January 6 Capitol Hill riot, and her embrace of debunked claims Donald Trump actually won the 2020 election.

And she is not likely to have Gov. Chris Sununu’s support, either.

Long has been floated as a possible candidate by Corey Lewendowski, an advisor to former President Trump. According to Lewandowski, Trump is not thrilled with the current field and Long could theoretically snag his endorsement if she enters the fray.

Last week, Jack Heath asked Lewandowski about reports he was promoting Long’s candidacy. The consultant declined to answer directly, but he did call her “exceptionally intelligent.” And, he noted, “New Hampshire has a history of sending women to Washington, D.C. There’s an argument to be made that a strong female candidate may have a better chance of defeating Maggie Hassan than any of the candidates in the field.”

On Friday, Heath asked Sununu about Long’s potential candidacy and Lewandowski’s possible connection. The governor didn’t sound impressed.

“I don’t know who that person is,” Sununu said. “I don’t know this Wendy Long. She doesn’t live here. That sounds like a carpetbagger from New York.”

Later in the show, Long called into Heath’s program, clearly reacting to Sununu’s comments and ready to respond.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Long said. “I do live in Keene and he doesn’t know my history. His father does. Gov. Sununu senior was a great help to us when some of us had some problems at Dartmouth College. Anyway, I look forward to getting to know the governor.”

Long told Heath she is seriously considering a run, but she has not made up her mind. If she does, she would be the sixth candidate, joining state Sen. President Chuck Morse, R-Salem; Kevin Smith, former Londonderry town manager; crypto-businessman Bruce Fenton; retired Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc; and Lincoln entrepreneur Vikram Mansharamani.

Long grew up in Keene and attended Dartmouth College before embarking on a legal career. She earned her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and also attended Harvard Law School. She served as a law clerk at U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Clarence Thomas.

Long said her first job in politics was as press secretary for New Hampshire’s Republican Sen. Gordon Humphrey. She got that job after being recommended by Jeffrey Hart, her English professor at Dartmouth.

Long’s time at Dartmouth has followed her career for good or ill, starting with her work at “Dartmouth Review,” the Ivy League college’s conservative newspaper co-founded by Hart. In 1990, Long, then known by her maiden name Wendy Stone, and fellow student and “Dartmouth Review” trustee Dinesh D’Souza, were forced to call a press conferee to apologize for publishing a quote from Adolf Hitler on the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.

The Dartmouth Review printed the following line from Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf” as part of the paper’s statement of principles: “Therefore, I believe today that I am acting in the sense of the Almighty Creator: By warding off the Jews, I am fighting for the Lord’s work.”

The pair blamed an unnamed staffer for putting in the quote without their knowledge, and they suggested it was an act of sabotage against the conservative publication, according to an Associated Press report. 

D’Souza, a controversial figure even in the conservative community,  made headlines in 2014 when he pleaded guilty to a felony count of making an illegal campaign contribution to Long. According to court records, he arranged for $20,000 in illegal donations for Long’s 2012 campaign against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) At the time, Long said she did not know about those illegal donations. She garnered just 26 percent of the vote.

Long again ran for Senate in 2016, that time against Democratic Senate leader Schumer. She lost with 27 percent.

During that campaign, she met with the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes. Rhodes is currently charged with sedition for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Thank you Stewart (Rhodes) for founding this whole organization,” Long said in a speech to the Oath Keepers. “I am running against one of the greatest enemies of the Constitution, Chuck Schumer, in the United States Senate. He’s an enemy not only of the Second Amendment which you know of course everyone knows he’s the face of the anti-Second Amendment movement, which by the way is in great peril.”

The Anti-Defamation League describes Oath keepers as “right-wing anti-government extremists who are part of the militia movement.”

Long’s own words about Jan. 6 seem to place her at the Capitol that day. In a group chat among former Justice Thomas clerks leaked to The Washington Post, Long wrote:

“Many of my friends and I had been praying our knees off that January 6 would see light and truth being shed on what we believe in our hearts was likely a stolen election… Many of us marched peacefully and yes, many also prayed and shared another important message, ‘Jesus saves.’”

Long moved back to Keene earlier this year, and Lewandowski notes many of the Granite State’s most successful politicians were not born here. And she has a reputation as an outspoken conservative activist who has helped engage grassroots Republicans.

She helped found the Judicial Confirmation Network — now the Judicial Crisis Network — which supports the nomination of conservative Supreme Court justices like Samuel Alito and opposes liberal nominees like Sonia Sotomayor.

If Long can win the nomination, she could have a shot against Hassan, whose polls have been underwhelming at best and whose sudden swing to the right on immigration and oil production has angered the progressive base. In the latest UNH poll, Hassan was tied with or losing to the relatively unknown candidates in the GOP primary.

“She’s done,” Sununu told Heath. “People see the writing on the wall, the Democratic Party sees the writing on the wall. Republicans, independents, and even some Democrats are frustrated and they are going to vote her right out in November, regardless of who comes out of that primary.”

A former student at Darmouth’s Giesel School of Medicine says in a new lawsuit that he was thrown out after being sexually assaulted. And he claims he was told he lacked credibility because he had been drinking at the time he was attacked.

The student, going by John Doe in the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court in Concord, says he was assaulted by his male roommate while nearly black-out drunk, but the roommate was first to go to the school to claim he had been assaulted by Doe while he was asleep.

Among his claims, Doe’s lawsuit asserts his version of the story — that he was the victim — was discounted by the school’s investigator because Doe had been drinking at the time of the assault. The lawsuit claims that is not the case when the victim is a woman.

“Dartmouth has credited intoxicated cisgender female students alleging sexual assault against cisgender male students when the female student could not remember specific details of the alleged assault either at all or at least could not remember details of the alleged events in a linear fashion in similar circumstances, whereas the investigator in this case held the same facts against Doe’s credibility, resulting in a finding that Doe was responsible against the preponderance of the evidence,” the lawsuit states.

Doe names his former roommate in the lawsuit, but that name is being not being reported at this time given that both men are alledging to be sexual assault victims.

Doe claims in his lawsuit, prepared by attorneys with Shaheen & Gordon, that he and his roommate started spending more time together during the 2020 COVID lockdowns on campus. This invariably led to heavy drinking, according to the lawsuit, and awkward encounters.

On the night of July 11, 2020, the pair were in their apartment drinking. 

“After approximately six or seven beers, (the roommate) challenged Doe to wrestle. (The roommate) pinned Doe and said something like, ‘See, I’m the alpha. You’re the beta,’” the lawsuit states.

Later that night, the two were watching movies and Doe passed out from drinking, according to the lawsuit. He awoke to find the roommate was assaulting him, according to the lawsuit. The sexual activity ended with Doe vomiting and the roommate claiming that Doe started it while he was asleep. 

Doe said in the filing he reacted that night by contemplating suicide. He eventually went home to his family in another state and took a break from school. In early 2021, Doe was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and has received treatment.

Doe made plans to go back to Dartmouth to finish his studies and told one school friend he was considering bringing a complaint against his former roommate. When the roommate found out Doe was returning to school he filed a complaint about the sexual assault, according to the lawsuit. 

Dartmouth’s Associate Vice President for Communications Diana Lawrence declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Legislative and Policy Director for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education Joe Cohn said schools can have a difficult path when dealing with sexual assault accusations that include some level of intoxication. 

“Where alcohol or drugs are involved, reaching sound determinations about credibility is particularly difficult,” Cohn said. “It’s improper for institutions to have a categorical rule or practice of accepting a party’s account as truth without considering the possibility that their intoxication or incapacitation compromises the accuracy of their testimony. However, it is similarly improper to have a categorical rule or practice of disregarding the testimony of intoxicated parties or witnesses.”

A recent change to New Hampshire state law requires that all students and employees on college campuses be trained to the role drugs and alcohol play in an individual’s ability to consent to sex. 

Cohn said that because many sex assault cases involve disputes over credibility, colleges must afford the ability for people to cross-examine witnesses.

“Courts, including the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, are increasingly recognizing that campus procedures must offer the parties meaningful opportunities to engage in cross-examination. Federal Title IX regulations require the same,” Cohn said.