Cornell University announced Tuesday that fraternity-hosted parties and other events would be banned for the remainder of the 2026-2027 academic year.
The announcement comes amid a wave of national outrage over the alleged rape of a former student by seven former fraternity members in 2024. The case has sparked national attention after the student, who is known only as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit last month detailing the alleged assault.
University President Michael Kotlikoff said in a statement that the decision came after listening to the Cornell community’s response to Jane Doe’s allegations that she was coerced with drugs and alcohol before her rape in October 2024 at the now-shuttered Chi Phi fraternity house.
Kotlikoff said he was “deeply sorry for the harm that Jane Doe suffered” and was “appalled that this act of sexual violence” occurred at Cornell.
“It is clear that women on our campus continue to question whether they are safe,” Kotlikoff said. “We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action.”
The decision came after protestors at local rallies in recent weeks have called on the university to ban fraternities, and less than a week after Common Council voted to adopt a moratorium on city permits for all parties and events hosted by student groups.
Jane Doe’s allegations, laid out in a civil lawsuit filed on Sept. 14, quickly drew national interest and set off a flood of criticism of the university for how it initially handled the allegations when they were first raised nearly two years ago.
Jane Doe reportedly told Cornell police that she was raped in an initial 2024 interview, according to a transcript obtained by CBS. Cornell police later prepared a sworn statement, which Jane Doe signed, that described the sex as consensual, according to prosecutors.
These and other discrepancies have fueled allegations that Cornell didn’t take Jane Doe’s allegations seriously and have shaken the Ivy League university’s reputation.
Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed New York State Attorney General Letitia James to look into the possibility of bringing criminal charges against the seven former fraternity members.
Hochul also requested that Cornell pay for an independent review of how it initially handled Jane Doe’s rape allegations. The university announced Oct. 6 that the review would be led by former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates.
The university announced Tuesday that, while the independent review is underway, New York State Police will be involved in investigations of allegations of sexual assault on campus, should anyone choose to pursue criminal charges. The university has faced criticism that its campus police force may not be adequately trained to investigate sexual assault allegations.
Tuesday’s ban affects all parties and social events at fraternity houses associated with the Interfraternity Council, a self-governing student organization that oversees more than two dozen fraternities on Cornell’s campus.
Cornell’s announcement said that there will be “zero tolerance for violations” of the ban, with the threat of an immediate suspension for any fraternities that break the new rule. The university had previously suspended its Chi Phi chapter as part of a wave of disciplinary measures against Greek Life in 2024.
In the Tuesday statement, the university promised to work with students and faculty to create alternative social events. It also pledged to hire additional staff to respond to allegations of sexual harassment and assault, including a case manager at the university’s Office of Civil Rights to help individuals navigate the process of reporting sexual misconduct.
The university said it would also expand an interesting effort to address address sexual assault. Cornell released a report on campus sexual assault in March 2026, produced by a task force established in response to Jane Doe’s initial allegations.
The original report found that about 35% of undergraduate women reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact in 2025.
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