Cornell Bans Frat Parties as It Re-Evaluates Greek Life

Cornell University has suspended all parties and social events held at Interfraternity Council houses for the remainder of the academic year. Any fraternity that violates the ban will receive an immediate emergency suspension, said university President Michael Kotlikoff.

“These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” Kotlikoff wrote in a Tuesday statement. “There will be zero tolerance for violations of this directive.”

The ban is one of several immediate measures Cornell is taking to increase student safety on campus as it reckons with a 2024 rape allegation that has upended the Ivy League university. Chi Phi, the fraternity where the alleged rape occurred, has been banned since 2024. Kotlikoff previously said the university would take a “serious look” at the role of Greek life on campus, and his language Tuesday—that the university will decide “whether” fraternities can safely continue—suggests that axing frats isn’t off the table. 

In addition to the frat party moratorium, the university plans to add more victim advocates to its Sexual Harassment and Assault—Response and Education office, and to hire more staff for its Office of Civil Rights, including a case manager who will “help individuals who report sexual misconduct navigate other university processes” such as financial aid, academic and housing accommodations. Cornell will have trauma-informed New York State Police investigators look into sexual assault reports and interview survivors who seek to press charges. 

The university will also accelerate the recommendations in a March 2026 report from the Presidential Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault, including “enhancing” existing education that addresses the bystander effect. 

“Research has shown that campus sexual assault is not limited to the fraternity system. At its core is the specific context of social behavior and a deeply disturbing prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse,” Kotlikoff wrote. “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.”