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Cornell University has suspended all fraternity parties for the rest of the school year and will hand investigations of campus sex crimes to the New York State Police, as outrage grows over its handling of a student’s gang rape allegations against members of the Chi Phi fraternity.
Getting into it: Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff announced Tuesday that Interfraternity Council houses can’t host parties or social events until the 2026-27 school year wraps up, with a new “zero tolerance” policy under which any chapter that breaks the ban faces immediate suspension. Investigations of sexual assault reports will shift from campus police, who are controlled by the university, to independent investigators with the state police, and Cornell will add a case manager and victim advocates for survivors. The changes follow a civil lawsuit filed in September by a former student, known as Jane Doe, accusing seven Chi Phi members of drugging and sexually assaulting her during a party at the fraternity house in October 2024.
Cornell shut down the chapter after her report, and its Title IX investigation led to two students being expelled and two suspended, but the local district attorney declined to bring charges within weeks. All seven men deny the allegations, with some claiming everything was consensual and others saying they had nothing to do with it, and none have been criminally charged.
“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. “We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action.”
Andrew Miltenberg, a lawyer for one of the accused men, said “Greek life has become the convenient target,” warning that parties will just move off campus. The case has also turned into a public fight, with TMZ publishing leaked transcripts from Cornell’s internal investigation, which Doe’s lawyer Thomas Giuffra called an attempt to “manipulate a false narrative,” while a lawyer for another accused member asked a court to bar Giuffra from making media appearances.
This all comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul removed the local DA from the case this month and appointed AG Letitia James as special prosecutor, which several of the accused are now fighting in court, as Cornell has hired former Deputy US Attorney General Sally Yates to review its response, and a day before Cornell’s faculty senate takes up a no-confidence resolution over the administration’s handling of sexual assault.
