Cornell Bans Fraternity Parties and Adds Sexual Assault Investigators

Cornell University has banned parties at fraternity houses for the rest of the academic year and will add experienced sexual assault investigators to its police force in response to a student’s allegations of gang rape in October 2024.The university announced the changes on Tuesday as it tried to reassure students, faculty and alumni that it is addressing the ongoing crisis set off several weeks ago by the lawsuit filed by a former undergraduate, known as Jane Doe.“We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action,” Michael I.Kotlikoff, the president of Cornell, announced in a letter to the campus on Tuesday.

“Cornell must be a place where safety is not an open question.”The lawsuit shocked the campus and nation not only because of its allegations of rape, but also because it put on full display how fraternity members exchanged Snapchat messages using crude and dehumanizing language to describe the woman and what was taking place.The announcement on Tuesday aims to also address the social culture at Cornell that set the stage for the alleged assault, Dr.Kotlikoff said.“I am deeply sorry for the harm Jane Doe suffered in 2024, and appalled that this act of sexual violence occurred within our Cornell community,” he said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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