“Is it too little, too late? »: Cornell students speak out about the school’s response to gang rape allegations | American universities

IFollowing an alleged gang rape trial that took place at Cornell University in 2024, the school announced this week that it would suspend parties and social gatherings at fraternity houses for the remainder of the academic year.

Last month, a former student, referred to in court documents under the pseudonym “Jane Doe,” filed a civil suit against several parties, including the university, accusing seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of sexually assaulting her during a party at their on-campus fraternity house in October 2024. All of the men named in the suit have denied wrongdoing and none have been criminally charged.

In a letter to the Cornell community, school President Michael Kotlikoff said banning fraternity parties would “provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine if and how it can safely continue.”

The Guardian spoke with several Cornell undergraduates about the university’s decision, as well as their handling of the alleged assault and its aftermath. The measure, which Kotlikoff called an effort to “enhance campus safety,” was announced Oct. 13 in a letter to the Cornell community. While some students welcome the ban on fraternity parties, others argue that the move is an attempt by the administration to avoid any perception of culpability in the matter.

When asked for comment, Cornell referred the Guardian to Kotlikoff’s October 13 letter to the community, in which he said: “I have spent the past few weeks listening to students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni and administrators, who have shared their feelings of deep connection and sympathy with Jane Doe, their anger and frustration that this could happen at Cornell, and their outrage at the broader prevalence of sexual violence against women in our society. Conversations and protests on campus have underscored my deep conviction that we must do better: that the time has come for meaningful and lasting change at Cornell and on campuses across the country.

A second-year student in Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, who asked to remain anonymous, supports the school’s latest decision. She acknowledged that Greek life “wasn’t something that really added to my experience at Cornell” and that the ban was “so necessary in light of Jane Doe’s experience.”

The student added that while she isn’t part of Greek life herself, many of her friends are. “I think it’s been upsetting for people who are very involved in Greek life,” she said, noting that some members of Greek life feel penalized for the actions of others. They “think (the ban is) somewhat unnecessary because it happened two years ago and it’s a completely different group of people.”

“I have a lot of friends who have opposing views,” she said.

Some students argued that the opposition was the problem and felt that the administration’s decision was intended to further deepen the division among students.

“The fact that (the administration) thinks a one-year moratorium will solve this problem is, I wouldn’t say it’s wrong. I would say it’s a deliberate manipulation of the student body,” said Jack Huber, a sophomore in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and a member of Students for a Democratic Cornell (SDC), an independent, student-led organization that advocates for free speech on campus. “I think this is a very intentional choice because it has the effect of creating a feeling that many students are angry and blaming the protesters for their inability to celebrate.

“Cornell is not ready to commit to institutional change and is using this moratorium to essentially scapegoat fraternities when this is a campus-wide problem,” he added. Huber added that sexual assault issues will persist until the school has an independent court system in place, which was previously in effect from 1969 to 2020.

Huber said the school’s current legal process functions as “a tool to be used to sweep cases of sexual violence under the rug because they harm Cornell’s reputation, and to persecute protesters because they harm the board’s investments.”

“It’s the system that allowed two of the (Cornell 7) to write essays,” he said.

SDC is demanding that the administration rewrite part of its student code of conduct to require independent hearings and minimal sanctions in cases of sexual assault.

Darius Pierce, a sophomore at Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning, remembers hearing about the incident, which resulted in Chi Phi being expunged and kicked off campus during his first weeks of college in 2025.

“I was passing the Chi Phi house on my way to campus, and someone in my group showed me (the house) and I asked why I had never heard of it, and they explained to me that there was a ketamine and assault problem in that house, and that was it,” he said.

“No one has ever expanded on this subject. I had never heard of it until the story broke with the Cornell Sun.”

Like Huber, Pierce believes the administration’s decision to ban fraternity parties is an attempt to “cover up their own faults and errors.”

“They’re trying to make it look like they’re actually reacting to (the alleged assault) and taking action instead of addressing the real problem,” he said.

Following the alleged assault, Cornell released a statement in November 2024 informing the community that there would be an internal investigation while the Cornell University Police Department continued its criminal investigation. According to Jane Doe’s lawsuit, Cornell University police ultimately did not file criminal charges. The investigation was reopened in September 2026 in response to public outrage. None of the defendants in the civil suit have been charged and all have denied wrongdoing.

Pierce, who started a fraternity but decided not to join one, also spoke about the rampant culture of alcohol and substance abuse he witnessed in Greek life at Cornell. He recalls an experience at a frat party where “this group of girls kept yelling that it was their first time doing coke at this frat party, and these frat guys were just handing out lines of coke like candy.”

“If you go to a fraternity, you plan on drinking,” Pierce said. “But it seems like women who attend these particular fraternities are under some kind of pressure to do more.”

The Guardian previously reported how Jane Doe’s trial reignited debates about Greek life and the relationship between fraternity parties, drinking culture and sexual assault. A 2019 survey by the Association of American Universities found that a quarter of undergraduate women reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual behavior, with fraternities being the setting where it was most likely to happen.

At Cornell, 35% of undergraduate women reported having had nonconsensual sexual contact since arriving at the school, according to a 2025 survey conducted by the university.

Saya Taylor, a sophomore and also a member of the SDC, believes that banning fraternities is a band-aid solution to a much deeper problem. “They try to make it look like they’re changing when that’s not the case,” she said. “Cornell University doesn’t want this to have a lasting impact.”

In addition to the fraternity ban, Kotlikoff also announced that the university would add a case manager to Cornell’s civil rights office to help those who report sexual misconduct to the school navigate the processes. He also promised that Cornell would work with the New York State Police and allow its criminal investigators, independent of Cornell, to investigate the allegations.

The second-year student believes this week’s announcement is a step in the right direction. “For the vast majority, people like me, we want justice and we want the administration to change the structural way they deal with sexual assault,” she said.

But others need more convincing.

“Is it too little, too late? The answer is a resounding yes,” Huber said. “Jane Doe never got the justice she deserved at the time.”