Cornell Bans All Fraternity Parties Amid Gang Rape Case
(MENAFN) Cornell University has shut down all fraternity parties for the rest of the academic year, a drastic response to a gang rape case that has convulsed its upstate New York campus, the school announced Tuesday.
University President Michael Kotlikoff apologized to the victim in a statement. “I am deeply sorry for the harm Jane Doe suffered in 2024, and appalled that this act of sexual violence occurred within our Cornell community,” he said.
The ban covers every house in the school’s Interfraternity Council. “All parties and social events in Interfraternity Council (IFC) houses at Cornell will be suspended for the remainder of the 2026-2027 academic year,” Kotlikoff said, warning of “zero tolerance” for violations. He said the pause is designed to buy time for a review of Greek life. “These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” said Kotlikoff.
The suspension is one piece of a campus-wide overhaul aimed at what the university described as a prevalent culture of rape and sexual assault at the Ivy League school, one that involved drugs and alcohol. “We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action,” said Kotlikoff, adding that Cornell University “must do better” to achieve “meaningful and lasting change” on campus.
Nearly one-third of Cornell students belong to Greek life. Kotlikoff said fraternity parties have taken on an even larger role in student life since the COVID-19 pandemic in Ithaca, the small town roughly 220 miles (354 kilometers) northwest of New York City where the university sits. “There is an issue, post-Covid, of what are the options for students in a town like Ithaca,” said Kotlikoff. “Many, many bars and venues went out of business and did not come back,” pushing drinking and partying into the on-campus fraternities.
University officials intend to transform the overall “social culture at Cornell,” Kotlikoff said, and he believes the problems reach beyond the fraternity system. “At its core is the specific context of social behavior and a deeply disturbing prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse,” he said. He added that campus police will bring on “experienced, trauma-informed criminal investigators, who are independent of Cornell University” to handle sexual assault allegations and to produce “comprehensive investigative summaries for the appropriate law enforcement agency.”
Thomas Giuffra, the attorney for Jane Doe, said his client welcomed the new measures but argued they arrived too late to protect her. Doe is identified by that name to shield her identity in her civil lawsuit against seven Cornell Chi Phi fraternity members accused of gang raping her in 2024. Giuffra spoke in an interview with a New York tabloid.
“Ms. Doe’s goal in filing her lawsuit was not solely for herself. She wanted to achieve her aim of improving Cornell and its response to abuse claims,” Giuffra said.
“While the steps announced today are helpful to achieve this goal, they are too late to protect Ms. Doe,” he said. “However, these steps will hopefully go a long way to help ensure that there are no more Jane Does.”
In her lawsuit, Doe alleged she was coerced into taking ketamine and drinking alcohol before a consensual sexual encounter with two of the seven fraternity members, which she said spiraled into a drug-fueled, non-consensual gang rape.
Doe also accuses the university of failing to impose significant punishments on her alleged attackers. Two of the seven students were expelled, and none faced criminal charges.
Since then, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has removed local District Attorney Matthew Van Houten from the reopened case and tapped state Attorney General Letitia James to lead the investigation.
University President Michael Kotlikoff apologized to the victim in a statement. “I am deeply sorry for the harm Jane Doe suffered in 2024, and appalled that this act of sexual violence occurred within our Cornell community,” he said.
The ban covers every house in the school’s Interfraternity Council. “All parties and social events in Interfraternity Council (IFC) houses at Cornell will be suspended for the remainder of the 2026-2027 academic year,” Kotlikoff said, warning of “zero tolerance” for violations. He said the pause is designed to buy time for a review of Greek life. “These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” said Kotlikoff.
The suspension is one piece of a campus-wide overhaul aimed at what the university described as a prevalent culture of rape and sexual assault at the Ivy League school, one that involved drugs and alcohol. “We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action,” said Kotlikoff, adding that Cornell University “must do better” to achieve “meaningful and lasting change” on campus.
Nearly one-third of Cornell students belong to Greek life. Kotlikoff said fraternity parties have taken on an even larger role in student life since the COVID-19 pandemic in Ithaca, the small town roughly 220 miles (354 kilometers) northwest of New York City where the university sits. “There is an issue, post-Covid, of what are the options for students in a town like Ithaca,” said Kotlikoff. “Many, many bars and venues went out of business and did not come back,” pushing drinking and partying into the on-campus fraternities.
University officials intend to transform the overall “social culture at Cornell,” Kotlikoff said, and he believes the problems reach beyond the fraternity system. “At its core is the specific context of social behavior and a deeply disturbing prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse,” he said. He added that campus police will bring on “experienced, trauma-informed criminal investigators, who are independent of Cornell University” to handle sexual assault allegations and to produce “comprehensive investigative summaries for the appropriate law enforcement agency.”
Thomas Giuffra, the attorney for Jane Doe, said his client welcomed the new measures but argued they arrived too late to protect her. Doe is identified by that name to shield her identity in her civil lawsuit against seven Cornell Chi Phi fraternity members accused of gang raping her in 2024. Giuffra spoke in an interview with a New York tabloid.
“Ms. Doe’s goal in filing her lawsuit was not solely for herself. She wanted to achieve her aim of improving Cornell and its response to abuse claims,” Giuffra said.
“While the steps announced today are helpful to achieve this goal, they are too late to protect Ms. Doe,” he said. “However, these steps will hopefully go a long way to help ensure that there are no more Jane Does.”
In her lawsuit, Doe alleged she was coerced into taking ketamine and drinking alcohol before a consensual sexual encounter with two of the seven fraternity members, which she said spiraled into a drug-fueled, non-consensual gang rape.
Doe also accuses the university of failing to impose significant punishments on her alleged attackers. Two of the seven students were expelled, and none faced criminal charges.
Since then, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has removed local District Attorney Matthew Van Houten from the reopened case and tapped state Attorney General Letitia James to lead the investigation.
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