Cornell Bans All Fraternity Parties For The Rest Of Academic Year

An Ivy League school suspended all fraternity house parties for the rest of the school year as an alleged 2024 gang rape continues to receive national attention.

Fraternity houses at Cornell University will host no social gatherings until fall 2027 while the school is examining whether its Greek life system should continue, President Michael Kotlikoff announced Tuesday in a letter to the campus community. The university president enacted the ban after weeks of protests over a lawsuit alleging seven Chi Phi brothers at the campus’ chapter drugged and gang-raped a female student in Oct. 2024.

“All parties and social events in Interfraternity Council (IFC) houses at Cornell will be suspended for the remainder of the 2026-2027 academic year. These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” Kotlikoff said in the letter. “There will be zero tolerance for violations of this directive. Any fraternity holding an in-house party or social event will receive an immediate emergency suspension.”

Kotlikoff added that the administration will work with community members to find alternative ways to engage in social activity on the campus, the letter stated.

The campus president also described the alleged actions of the seven Chi Phi brothers as sexual violence, though the case remains under investigation.

“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,” Kotlikoff wrote. “It is clear that women on our campus continue to question whether they are safe.”

New York State Police investigators will handle on-campus sexual assault allegations while an outside review by former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates is underway, according to the letter.

Cornell did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

A former student, identified as Jane Doe, sued Cornell and the seven Chi Phi members on Sept. 16 over allegations the fraternity brothers drugged her with ketamine and raped her in Oct. 2024, according to the lawsuit.

Attorney General Letitia James took over the case as special prosecutor on Oct. 1 at the direction of Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“Jane Doe’s statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual,” Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten stated in a Sept. 28 press release, announcing the reopening of the office’s 2024 investigation.

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