Cornell pauses frat parties as assault case builds pressure

Cameron Fozi, Bloomberg News on Oct 13, 2026

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Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff announced plans to strengthen campus safety, including suspending fraternity parties, after sexual assault allegations from a former student roiled the Ivy League school and attracted national attention.

“It is clear that women on our campus continue to question whether they are safe,” Kotlikoff said in a statement Tuesday. “We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action.”

The move suspends all parties and social events at houses within Cornell’s Interfraternity Council for the rest of the academic year. Any fraternity that violates the ban will face immediate emergency suspension, according to the president’s announcement.

The plans amount to Cornell’s most sweeping changes yet to its response to sexual assault cases, as pressure builds on the university following the former student’s allegations. Last week, Cornell said it appointed former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to head an independent review of how the university prevents and responds to claims of sexual assault.

In the statement Tuesday, Kotlikoff outlined plans to bolster support for sexual assault victims by adding staff to Cornell’s Office of Civil Rights and allowing New York State Police to investigate sexual assault allegations on campus.

The measures call for faster implementation of recommendations issued in March by a Cornell task force on sexual assault. Those include improving the university’s communications, sexual assault responses, safe transportation services and courses that “increase competency and understanding about sex.”

Last month, the former student, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, alleged in a civil lawsuit that she was plied with drugs and alcohol and raped by members of a fraternity at Cornell in 2024. She claimed the university, the fraternity and her sorority failed to protect her.

“These are first steps toward systemic change on our campus,” Kotlikoff said in the Tuesday statement. “We will take all necessary steps to address the conditions that led to Jane Doe’s experiences, and those of other survivors.”

The former student’s allegations led to the reopening of a criminal probe and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s appointment of New York Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor in the matter.

As protests have roiled the Ivy League school, members of Cornell’s Faculty Senate will vote this month on whether it has “no confidence in the ability of the central administration to effectively address the ongoing crisis of sexual assault.”

Last week, the city council in Cornell’s college town instituted a monthlong moratorium on permits for university-affiliated events “where sexual violence and gender-based harassment proliferate.”

During a council meeting, public commenters, including Cornell students, said they considered the city’s moratorium as a way to pressure the university to improve how it responds to incidents of sexual violence.