Multiple appeals against the expulsion of Alec Cook—a former UW-Madison student currently facing 21 criminal charges after 10 women came forward to report sexual assault or harassment—have been denied.
Both Chancellor Rebecca Blank and the UW Board of Regents have rejected Cook’s appeals, and his expulsion from UW-Madison is final.
Cook's attorneys, as well as UW-Madison spokesperson Meredith McGlone, confirmed this final outcome but would not comment further.
Cook had previously appealed the expulsion decision after a non-academic misconduct hearing found him responsible for “a crime of violence” March 10. Cook’s lawyers claimed their client was not given a fair and impartial hearing, saying he was prohibited from ensuring that the panel members were not previously influenced by media reports.
A previous version of the story quoted one of Cook’s lawyers as saying that his second appeal was still pending. This is incorrect and the second appeal has been denied. The Daily Cardinal regrets this error.
UPDATE: This story was updated to include more information about the appeals process.