Cornell suspends frat parties, at Ivy League campus roiled by resurfaced, 2024 sexual assault case

Cornell University is suspending parties and other social events at fraternity houses for the remainder of the academic year, the school's president said Tuesday, amid the resurfacing of allegations a female student was sexually assaulted at a frat house in 2024.

Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said in announcing the ban on such parties that New York State Police will have a role in investigating sex crimes on campus. 

“These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” Kotlikoff wrote in a letter to the campus community.

He also vowed to add a case manager to the Ivy League school’s Office of Civil Rights to help those who report sexual misconduct on campus navigate the process, and allow New York State Police criminal investigators to join campus police in investigating allegations.

None of the seven fraternity members who allegedly participated in the 2024 incident, in which alcohol and drugs were involved, was charged. The matter resurfaced last month when the woman, who is no longer a Cornell student, filed a Jane Doe civil suit against the plaintiffs.