Cornell announces suspension of all frat parties amid Jane Doe lawsuit

Cornell University announced Tuesday it would be suspending all parties at fraternities through the end of the academic year and adding trained sexual assault investigators to its police staff amid the fallout of the gang rape lawsuit over an alleged incident at the Chi Phi frat in 2024.

School President Michael Kotlikoff said in a community-wide message that any fraternity that violates the party prohibition will be placed on immediate emergency suspension.

“There is an issue, post-Covid, of what are the options for students in a town like Ithaca,” Kotlikoff told The New York Times in an interview. “Many, many bars and venues went out of business and did not come back.”

The school says it will invest in “safe social alternatives” for students.

Cornell is also appointing a dedicated case manager to help individuals who report sexual misconduct navigate the process and adding more staff to its Office of Civil Rights.

Kotlikoff said the school also wants to change its social culture by accelerating recommendations from the Presidential Task Force on Sexual Assault and enhancing existing education for bystanders in such situations.

“Research has shown that campus sexual assault is not limited to the fraternity system. At its core is the specific context of social behavior and a deeply disturbing prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse. 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,” his message reads.

The changes come after the school hired outside counsel to investigate its handling of Jane Doe’s allegations that she was coerced into drugs and alcohol at Chi Phi in October 2024 then raped by several members throughout the night.

The district attorney declined to pursue criminal charges at the time after Cornell police handed over a condensed statement of the situation that left out Doe’s statement she was “certain” she was raped.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is now also investigating the matter.

“We will take all necessary steps to address the conditions that led to Jane Doe’s experiences, and those of other survivors. Cornell must be a place where safety is not an open question. I am committed to doing that work, and to seeing it through. It will take all of us working together, however, to build a Cornell culture of community, trust, and respect,” Kotlikoff concluded