Cornell suspends fraternity parties after alleged campus gang rape case

Cornell University has suspended fraternity parties for the academic year and will give the New York State Police a role in investigating sex crimes on campus.

The Ivy League university announced the major changes on Tuesday, as it sought to reassure the rattled campus community amid the ongoing outrage over its handling of allegations that a female student was sexually assaulted at a fraternity house in 2024.

The accusations came to light after the former student, known as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit last month.

In addition to the blanket suspension of all parties and social events at fraternity houses through the 2026-27 school year, Cornell President Michael I Kotlikoff announced a new “zero-tolerance” policy for violations, noting that any fraternity chapter that breaks the ban will face an immediate freeze.

“These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” Kotlikoff wrote in a letter addressed to the campus community on Tuesday.

The university president pledged to strengthen Cornell’s sexual misconduct response by adding a dedicated case manager to the Office of Civil Rights to guide survivors through the reporting process.

Kotlikoff affirmed that he will be transferring investigative authority from the university police to independent, trauma-informed investigators with the New York State Police in an effort to reform the handling of sexual abuse cases on campus and restore community trust.

Kotlikoff acknowledged that sexual violence extends beyond fraternities, saying Cornell must also confront a campus culture of excessive drinking and drug use and expand education about students’ responsibility to intervene when others are at risk.

Cornell also plans to add victim advocates and expand sexual violence prevention programmes, including education aimed at encouraging bystanders to intervene, he said, calling the various actions announced Tuesday “first steps toward systemic change on our campus”.

“We will take all necessary steps to address the conditions that led to Jane Doe’s experiences, and those of other survivors,” he said.

Doe’s lawsuit was brought against the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell University and seven of its members, accusing them of drugging and gang raping her during a party on the night of October 19, 2024.

Following her initial allegations in 2024, Cornell shut down the fraternity and temporarily suspended the accused male students, two of whom were later expelled. But critics have said the university’s response was too lenient, prompting it to launch an independent review into its handling of the case, led by a former top US prosecutor.

“We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action,” Kotlikoff said. “Cornell must be a place where safety is not an open question.”