Cornell suspends fraternity parties for rest of the academic year amid reviews of 2024 rape allegations

By Alisha Ebrahimji, Jason Carroll, CNN

(CNN) — Cornell University has suspended all parties and social events at campus fraternity houses for the remainder of the academic year as the school evaluates its response to a student’s allegations that she was gang-raped at a fraternity in 2024, Cornell’s president wrote in a letter Tuesday.

The letter to the campus community also outlined other measures the school is taking, including steps to provide what the president says will be better support for sexual assault survivors.

“I have spent the past weeks listening to students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and trustees, who have shared their feelings of deep connection and sympathy with Jane Doe, anger and frustration that this could happen at Cornell, and outrage at the broader prevalence of sexual violence against women in our society,” Cornell University President Michael I. Kotlikoff said in the letter.

Kotlikoff’s letter comes amid intense public scrutiny over how Cornell and the county district attorney’s office handled the 2024 rape allegations. No criminal charges were filed at the time, but the accuser, known in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit against seven fraternity members, Cornell and others last month, renewing attention to the case.

New York Attorney General Letitia James was appointed by the governor this month to re-examine the case, and the university has retained former US Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates to review how Cornell “prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault and related misconduct on campus.”

Kotlikoff’s letter said Cornell is suspending all parties and social events at the school’s fraternity houses for the remainder of the 2026-2027 academic year, to allow for a thorough review “to determine how and whether” fraternity life can safely continue at Cornell.

“Any fraternity holding an in-house party or social event will receive an immediate emergency suspension,” Kotlikoff wrote. His announcement came nearly a week after the city of Ithaca, New York, where Cornell is located, voted to place a moratorium on event and noise permits for events affiliated with the university.

CNN has sought comment from Cornell’s Interfraternity Council.

Additionally, the university will offer more support for survivors of sexual assault, in part by adding staff to its civil rights office, the president wrote. That will include a dedicated case manager who will help victims report sexual misconduct and navigate other university processes, he wrote.

The university also is working to let the New York State Police investigate allegations of sexual assault on campus, Kotlikoff wrote. Cornell police had investigated the 2024 allegations.

Although Yates is expected to recommend ways Cornell can improve after her review, Kotlikoff decided to make changes now because “it is clear that we cannot wait for (Yates’) findings to take action,” the university president wrote.

Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, told CNN Tuesday that while the steps Cornell announced are helpful toward improving the university, “they are too late to protect Ms. Doe.”

“Ms. Doe’s goal in filing her lawsuit was not solely for herself,” Guiffra said. “She wanted to achieve her aim of improving Cornell and its response to abuse claims.”

Kotlikoff said campus sexual assault extends beyond fraternal organizations and is a much broader cultural issue, to which he said drug abuse and alcohol abuse contribute.

“While this is not a problem unique to Cornell, we are committed to setting a higher standard for education, oversight, and enforcement of safe social behavior and citizenship,” the president said.

Kotlikoff apologized for the harm he says Jane Doe experienced in 2024, saying he’s “appalled that this act of sexual violence” within the Cornell community. He noted “it is clear that women on our campus continue to question whether they are safe.”

“These are first steps toward systemic change on our campus,” Kotlikoff said. “We will take all necessary steps to address the conditions that led to Jane Doe’s experiences, and those of other survivors. Cornell must be a place where safety is not an open question.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Kara Scannell contributed to this report.