Cornell University has suspended fraternity parties for the entire academic year and will hand New York State Police the lead role in investigating sexual crimes on campus.
The Ivy League university announced the sweeping changes on Tuesday as an effort to reassure a shaken campus community, as outrage continues over how the school handled a female student's allegation that she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity house in 2024.
The allegations came to light after an alumna, identified as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit last month.
Beyond the ban on all fraternity parties and social events through the end of the 2026-27 academic year, Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff announced a new "zero-tolerance" policy for violations, noting that any fraternity chapter that breaks the ban will be immediately frozen.
"These measures will allow time for a comprehensive review of fraternity and sorority life at Cornell, to determine whether and how it can continue safely," Kotlikoff wrote in a letter to the campus community on Tuesday.
The president pledged to strengthen the response to sexual misconduct by adding a dedicated case manager in the Office of Civil Rights to guide survivors through the reporting process.
Kotlikoff said he would transfer investigative authority from campus police to independent, trauma-trained investigators with the New York State Police, aiming to overhaul how campus sexual abuse cases are handled and to restore community trust.
Kotlikoff acknowledged that sexual violence is not confined to fraternities, saying Cornell must also confront an excessive drinking and drug culture on campus, and expand education on students' responsibility to intervene when others are in danger.
Cornell also plans to add victim advocates and expand sexual violence prevention programs, including bystander-intervention education, he said, calling Tuesday's actions "the first steps toward systemic change on our campus."
"We will take every step necessary to address the conditions that led to Jane Doe's experience, and those of other survivors," he said.
Doe's lawsuit was filed against the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell and seven of its members, alleging they drugged and gang-raped her at a party on the night of Oct. 19, 2024.
After her initial allegation in 2024, Cornell shut down the fraternity and suspended the accused students, two of whom were later expelled. But critics said the university's response was too lenient, prompting the school to open an independent review of its handling of the case, led by a former top U.S. prosecutor.
"We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and acting meaningfully," Kotlikoff said. "Cornell must be a place where safety is no longer an open question."
