Cornell bans all fraternity parties in wake of Jane Doe’s gang-rape allegations
Cornell University has banned all fraternity parties in the wake of serious gang-rape allegations by a former female student.
The ban on parties at frat houses affiliated with the Ivy League college will be in place until the end of the academic year, Cornell announced on Tuesday.
The announcement comes after a former student, known only as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit accusing seven men from Chi Phi of raping her in 2024.
Michael I. Kotlikoff, the president of Cornell, said: ‘We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action.
‘Cornell must be a place where safety is not an open question.’
Alongside the party ban, Cornell announced that it will be adding experienced sexual assault investigators to its police force. Accusations continue to mount over whether the internal investigation into the alleged assault went far enough.
Following the alleged gang rape at the Chi Phi house in 2024, District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined to prosecute any of the seven men.
Cornell’s Title IX office then conducted a lengthy investigation in 2025, and the outcome resulted in a mixture of expulsions and suspensions for some of the men.
The ban on parties at frat houses affiliated with the Ivy League college will be in place until the end of the academic year, Cornell announced on Tuesday
Jane Doe decided to file a civil lawsuit this September, laying bare all the alleged details from the night – which has shocked the campus and beyond.
Houten reopened the criminal investigation after the lawsuit was made public, and that has since been taken over by New York’s attorney general Letitia James.
None of the seven men have been charged with a crime. They all deny any wrongdoing.
This is a breaking news story.
