Cornell University bans frat parties, vows to address 'disturbing' campus culture

Cornell University has banned parties and social events at fraternities for the rest of the school year and will bring sexual assault investigators into its police unit, in response to a former student's allegation of gang rape in 2024.

The changes came on Tuesday as the university said it is committed to addressing a "deeply disturbing" culture of drug and alcohol abuse, and a rise in sexual violence on campus following a civil lawsuit filed by a former student, Jane Doe, which set off national outrage and a crisis at Cornell.

"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," Michael I. Kotlikoff, who is Cornell's president, wrote in a letter addressed to the campus on Tuesday. "It is clear that women on our campus continue to question whether they are safe. We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action."

The lawsuit, which Doe filed nearly one month ago, alleges that Doe was plied with ketamine and was sexually assaulted by members of the Chi Phi fraternity during a party in October of 2024. The details of the allegations, which disclosed how fraternity members used a Snapchat group chat to discuss the woman and events at the party with openly crude language, sparked fury across the nation.

Doe's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, told news outlets that Doe has been sent death threats and police swarmed her family's home since she filed the lawsuit.

The administration's changes come after student groups organized protests last week on campus.

"The administration is clearly feeling the heat and needed to make a move," says John Hartnett, a sophomore at Cornell who has helped organize protests. He called the changes a "half measure," and said that banning frats was not a long term solution to systematic issues at the university.

The faculty senate is considering a vote of no confidence in the university administration at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday. It's a rare move that demonstrates the deep seated frustration and distrust stemming from the 2024 case.

"Trust is still eroded on campus — that hasn't changed," says Julia Chang, an associate professor of Hispanic studies in the Department of Romance Studies. "The fact that these changes are coming about now — two years later — is a testament to the power of the student movement and the global conversation it has sparked; not the integrity of the administration."

The moratorium on Greek life is expected to have a reverberating effect on campus, where about one-third of all students participate in fraternities and sororities. The university's ties to Greek life, Kotlikoff said, has in part created a toxic culture on campus that requires serious course correction.

"While this is not a problem unique to Cornell, we are committed to setting a higher standard for education, oversight, and enforcement of safe social behavior and citizenship," Kotlikoff wrote.

Ray Epstein, who works with a consent education company, and is one of the organizers of a rally planned just steps away from Cornell's campus on Tuesday, said that while the measures from Cornell are "overall a win," they also serve as an "effort to save face."

"What I think they should be doing, is operating first instead of as a business, the way that they are now, as institutions that are meant to educate and keep their students safe," Epstein said.

Kotlikoff said that in addition to enhancing bystander training programming, the university will also improve its services to survivors of sexual assault by increasing staffing in its civil rights office, which would help individuals navigate the reporting process for incidents.

Additionally, the university will work with the New York State Police's criminal investigators on campus sexual assault investigations. The move allows the investigators, who are independent from the university, to take on cases in which survivors pursue criminal charges.

The university plans to bring in faculty who are experts in sexual assault and rape culture to help reform the Presidential Task Force on Sexual Assault through listening events with the Cornell community.

Kotlikoff's letter did not explain why these events are only being issued now — two years after administrators at Cornell learned about the allegations in 2024.

Although the district attorney did not prosecute the case in 2024, Cornell's Title IX office conducted an investigation in 2025. In March 2025, a panel of staff and faculty at Cornell moved to expel or suspend some of the men. The panel required the remaining men to write "essays" in addition to other sanctions.