On Tuesday, Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff suspended all parties and social events at the school's fraternity houses for the rest of the 2026-27 academic year. Any fraternity that holds one faces an immediate emergency suspension. Cornell is also working with New York State Police so their investigators can look into campus sexual assault allegations. Kotlikoff acted after a former student, known as Jane Doe, sued the school, the fraternity and seven of its former members, among others. She says members of the Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted her at their house in October 2024. No one has been charged. Lawyers for four of the seven men say their clients deny it. Gov. Kathy Hochul has since handed the criminal case to Attorney General Letitia James. On Wednesday, Cornell's Faculty Senate will take up a proposed no-confidence resolution on the administration's handling of sexual assault.

We Have to Act Now, Then Decide If Frats Can Be Safe (Michael Kotlikoff)

Cornell's president says the pause buys time to decide whether fraternity life can continue at all.

The school won't wait for the review to finish before acting. Kotlikoff wrote that "we cannot wait for these findings to take action." He said the pause gives Cornell time "to determine whether and how it can safely continue." He also apologized. "I am deeply sorry for the harm Jane Doe suffered in 2024," he wrote.

Fraternities that break the rule get suspended on the spot. Kotlikoff promised "zero tolerance." A fraternity that holds a party or social event in its house gets an emergency suspension right away. State Police investigators will interview survivors who choose to pursue criminal charges. Kotlikoff noted they're "independent of Cornell University." That arrangement would last for the duration of the independent review.

Sexual assault isn't just a frat problem, Cornell's president says. "Research has shown that campus sexual assault is not limited to the fraternity system," Kotlikoff wrote. He said the school also has to deal with heavy drinking and drug use. Cornell plans to pay for "safe social alternatives" and hire more victim advocates.

The Changes Help, but Too Late for Jane Doe (Thomas Giuffra)

Jane Doe's lawyer says the changes are good but came after the damage was done.

Her lawyer welcomes the steps. Thomas Giuffra represents Jane Doe. He told NBC News that her goal in suing "was not solely for herself." "While the steps announced today are helpful to achieve this goal, they are too late to protect Ms. Doe," he said.

He hopes it spares the next student. "These steps will hopefully go a long way to help ensure that there are no more Jane Does," Giuffra said.

Banning Fraternities Won't Fix It (Kotlikoff Last Week, Pietro Sasso, Dawn Wiese)

Kotlikoff warned a week ago that a ban on Greek life could push it into the shadows, and people who study and insure fraternities are skeptical of bans too.

A ban could backfire, Cornell's president said a week ago. At a virtual faculty meeting on Oct. 6, he said an outright ban on Greek life might "feel like it's a strong statement in the short term but won't address the problem — and arguably could exacerbate it," The New York Times reported. "I worry about pushing this into the shadows, into houses which we don't own," he said, according to a recording of the meeting. Kotlikoff's order bans parties in fraternity houses. It doesn't shut the fraternities down.

Parties moved off campus once before. Cornell's fraternities canceled their parties for one weekend in late 2024, after the Chi Phi chapter was suspended. The Washington Post reported that during that weekend, "some fraternities simply moved their parties off campus." The fraternities called off parties for another weekend in early October.

A school can't always stop a fraternity from partying off campus. Pietro Sasso is an education professor at Old Dominion University who studies fraternities. He wrote about the case for The Conversation on Oct. 2. "A university can withdraw recognition from a fraternity chapter… but that does not necessarily prevent the organization from hosting gatherings off campus," he wrote.

Fraternity backers want education instead. Dawn Wiese is an officer at an insurance company for fraternities. "We need to continue to focus on education and prevention, rather than banning Greek life," she said in an Oct. 11 New York Times report.

A Pause Isn't Enough (Day Hall Protesters, Jared Hoffman, Paul Ortiz)

Activists and some alumni and faculty want Greek life gone or Cornell's leadership held to account.

Protesters want IFC fraternities gone for good. Activists at Day Hall, Cornell's administration building, demanded the "abolition of [Interfraternity Council] greek life on campus" in an Oct. 5 statement to The Cornell Daily Sun.

A former Chi Phi resident blames the whole Greek system. Jared Hoffman graduated in 2015 and lived at the Chi Phi house in 2012. His Oct. 8 guest column for the Sun ran under the headline "Tear It Down and Build Something New." "By letting the Greek system continue to function as a whole, Cornell enabled a culture of secrecy, lawlessness and abuse to persist," he wrote.

Some faculty say the administration is the problem. Paul Ortiz is a Faculty Senate member and the lead sponsor of the no-confidence resolution. In an interview published Oct. 6, he told NBC News there's a "climate of fear among women students." He said getting "rid of one person" just means you "bring a new person into a dysfunctional environment."

The city wants its own police on assault cases, not Cornell's. On Oct. 7, Ithaca's Common Council voted 9-1 to stop issuing new event permits to Cornell and its Greek groups until Nov. 5. The council wants the Ithaca Police Department to handle sexual assault cases instead of Cornell's campus police. "Cornell, as an institution, thinks it's above the law," Alderperson Jorge DeFendini said at that meeting. Tuesday's plan brings in the State Police, not the Ithaca police.

Where This Lands

Kotlikoff says Cornell has to stop the parties now and use the year to decide whether fraternities can stay. Giuffra calls the changes helpful but too late for his client. Sasso says pulling a chapter's recognition doesn't necessarily stop it from gathering off campus. The Washington Post reported that some fraternities moved their parties off campus when they canceled them for a weekend in late 2024. Kotlikoff warned a week ago that a ban could push Greek life "into the shadows." Campus protesters want IFC fraternities abolished. The resolution Ortiz sponsors says the administration can't effectively address the crisis of sexual assault. Faculty will debate his no-confidence resolution on Wednesday.

Sources