Cornell gang rape accusations: University suspends student association events

Cornell University announced on Tuesday that it would suspend parties organized by fraternities and male student associations for the rest of the school year until the end of the academic year, following an alleged case of gang rape of a student which sparked a wave of indignation in the United States.

“These measures will provide the time needed to conduct a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine if and how it can safely continue,” university President Michael Kotlikoff said in a statement. The affair broke out last month after a young woman took legal action.

Members of the Chi Phi fraternity implicated

Aged 20 at the time of the events, she claims to have been raped by seven students, members of the Chi Phi fraternity, a male student association, while she had consumed alcohol and ketamine. The revelations sparked a wave of outrage on the Cornell campus and beyond, with many seeing them as emblematic of a culture linked to fraternities at universities.

It also sparked strong criticism of the prestigious institution, as well as New York prosecutors, who had not initiated any criminal proceedings against the alleged perpetrators at the time of the events. An investigation has since been reopened and prosecutions considered against the alleged attackers. An independent external investigation must also examine the establishment's management of the matter.