Melissa DeRosa ’04 M.P.A. ’09, secretary to former governor Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) and unofficial advisor of his bid for New York City mayor, berated a Cornell undergraduate student after she probed DeRosa about Cuomo’s sexual harassment allegations at an Oct 1. Zoom event hosted by the Cornell Political Strategy Group.
After the event, the club suspended the student from “client-facing relations,” before reducing her punishment to a strike in the club’s punishment system days later, according to a former club member familiar with the situation.
While the student did not respond to a request for comment about the suspension prior to publication, she explained that there was “never a period of suspension” in an email to The Sun after the story was released.
“I was wondering how you, as a woman who has done a lot of work for women, can grapple with the ethical and moral qualms of working with a disgraced governor with numerous sexual harassment allegations?” the student analyst asked DeRosa during the event.
“I take issue with every single thing you literally just said,” DeRosa responded, adding that “[Cuomo] was never found guilty of anything. He was investigated by five district attorneys, and every single one came back and said no laws were broken.”
The former governor resigned in August 2021 after New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into his sexual harassment was released. Five criminal investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct cases against Cuomo were dropped by various district attorneys — all citing a lack of evidence. One case, where a state trooper is suing Cuomo in civil court, continues, while two other individual lawsuits were settled by New York State.
“Kissing someone on the cheek, putting your hand on someone’s waist, posing for a photograph, is not sexual harassment,” DeRosa said. “And I know, because I wrote the sexual harassment laws in New York State. My blood, sweat and tears, not yours.”
In January 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice published an agreement with the State of New York Executive Chamber to resolve the department’s claims that Cuomo engaged in sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1864. The agreement states that the former governor “repeatedly subjected … female employees to unwelcome, non-consensual sexual contact; ogling; unwelcome sexual comments; gender-based nicknames; comments on their physical appearances; and/or preferential treatment based on their physical appearances” during his time in office.
The 2024 DOJ agreement did not “constitute an adjudication or finding on the merits of the case,” or serve as an “admission of liability by the Executive Chamber, New York State, or its agencies,” according to the agreement.
“God forbid anyone in your family is ever falsely accused, and then someone runs around and calls them ‘disgraced’ and asks you how you can stand by them,” DeRosa said to the student analyst. “I hope you don’t have to deal with that moment.”
DeRosa continued: “Watch yourself when you say things like that in public or if you want to be taken seriously.”
When Cuomo was governor, DeRosa became the most powerful appointed official in the state and helped push through amendments to the state’s Human Rights Law, lowering the burden for sexual harassment claims and expanding protections for protected characteristics like race and gender. She has spoken publicly about her own experiences with sexual harassment.
In an email statement to The Sun, CPSG leadership wrote that “while we don’t share or endorse every view expressed [by guest speakers], we believe it’s important for students to engage directly with people who have shaped state and national politics.” While the organization, which was formed in spring 2025, has not publicly labeled itself with a political affiliation, it has thus far exclusively invited guest speakers involved with Democratic campaigns or organizations.
During her time as Cuomo’s top aide, DeRosa allegedly played a central role in retaliating against sexual harassment claims by employees and creating a “toxic workplace environment,” according to the New York Times. Some current and former Cuomo aides also said DeRosa would scream at employees over small mistakes, like a misspelling.
In 2023, a lawsuit that accused DeRosa and Rich Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesperson, of discrimination and retaliation was dismissed.
DeRosa serves on the advisory board of Cornell’s Department of Communication.
‘No Undue Punishment’
Members of CPSG high-fived the analyst, Ria Dangayach ’28, and applauded her question during the event. But immediately after the incident, club leadership — including Co-Presidents Kashyap Rajesh ’28 and Avi Dhyani ’28 and Director of Public Relations Dominic Enright ’27 — called DeRosa and apologized for the nature of the interaction, according to club members with knowledge of the event.
The project manager said that Enright, Rajesh and Dhyani then suspended Dangayach from “all client-facing relations” for the semester. A few days later, the project manager said the leadership reduced her suspension to a strike in their disciplinary system.
According to the CPSG rulebook, which was reviewed by The Sun, strikes only concern attendance issues. The rulebook states that “2 unexcused absences or assignments missed = 1 strike,” and that three strikes mean expulsion from the organization. There was no disciplinary policy outlined regarding the questions analysts ask.
Club leadership also pressured the project manager on three separate occasions to rescind any information he gave The Sun about DeRosa’s comments, and told Dangayach to remain quiet about the situation, according to the project manager.
The project manager said he resigned from CPSG the day after he provided The Sun with a recording of the event.
At first, the club wrote to The Sun that there were no “undue punitive actions” taken against Dangayach after the event, and that leadership “took all appropriate steps, before, during and after the meeting.”
After The Sun asked for clarification on what actions were taken against Dangayach, the club sent an additional statement claiming that “no tangible disciplinary action or suspension was ever issued.”
Before publication, Dangayach wrote in a statement to The Sun that “the situation was addressed fairly, constructively, and respectfully. I am actively involved in a project team and am enjoying my experience in the organization."
She did not respond to a request for comment confirming or denying a suspension from “client-facing relations” prior to publication.
She wrote post publication, “The article’s mention of a ‘client-facing suspension’ is also completely inaccurate. I am currently leading a client project within the organization and have continued to participate fully in all club activities. There was never a period of suspension.”
Dangayach also stated, “PSG Club Leadership did not ask me once to remain quiet. This statement in the article is false, and I can confirm that it is not true.”
A spokesperson for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech watchdog group, wrote to The Sun that while CPSG’s actions may “harm a culture of free expression, … private organizations, including student clubs, are free to regulate their membership."
In the aftermath of DeRosa’s talk, the club has banned cell phones during speaker events and has only asked guests questions written by club leadership, according to two members familiar with CPSG’s meetings.
Correction, Oct. 30, 2:10 p.m.: The article has been updated to correct that former Governor Andrew Cuomo previously had five investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct, but not five formal misdemeanor sex crime cases.
Clarification, Oct. 30, 2:10 p.m.: The article has been updated to clarify the 2024 DOJ report did not constitute an adjudication or finding on the merits of the case. The article has also been updated to clarify allegations of retaliation, adding that a lawsuit that accused DeRosa and Rich Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesperson, of discrimination and retaliation was dismissed.
Update, Oct. 30, 2:10 p.m.: A section has been removed from this reporting that described follow-up communication between DeRosa and club leaders.
Update, Oct. 30, 2:10 p.m.: This article has been updated to include a response from Ria Dangayach ’28 given post-publication.
Update, Oct. 30, 9:51 p.m.: This article has been updated to re-include an additional quote from Ria Dangayach '28 about her experience in the organization after the event.
Atticus Johnson is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a senior writer for the News department and can be reached at ajohnson@cornellsun.com.
