Cornell Finally Bans Frat Parties After Alleged Sexual Assault. Congratulations, I Guess
After a woman alleged she was drugged and sexually assaulted at a fraternity house, Cornell is cracking down. It only took two years and a lawsuit.
Black News 
Cornell University has banned all parties at fraternity houses after its response to an alleged sexual assault on campus two years ago came under scrutiny. And that’s the least the university can do.
No, seriously, that is literally the least they can do.
A woman using the pseudonym Jane Doe filed a lawsuit last month claiming she was given drugs and sexually assaulted by several men during a 2024 party at a Cornell fraternity house. The allegations have sparked renewed questions about how the university handles sexual assault complaints and whether its leadership takes the safety of women on campus seriously.
Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff announced a series of measures Tuesday in response to the allegations, including ending fraternity parties for the remainder of the year.
“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 in a statement, according to the BBC.
“It is clear that women on our campus continue to question whether they are safe. We must meet this moment by acknowledging where we have fallen short and taking meaningful action,” he added.
Those are the right words. But they are arriving awfully late, particularly when the university’s initial punishment reportedly included the seven men accused of the sexual assault writing essays.
Essays? For allegations involving drugging and sexual assault? What exactly were these young men supposed to learn from that exercise? How to properly structure a five-paragraph argument about why women deserve to feel safe at a college party?
Cornell’s new policy prohibits fraternity parties for the rest of the year, and Kotlikoff said anyone who violates the rules will be suspended. That’s a more serious consequence, but it also raises an obvious question: Why did it take a lawsuit and a public outcry for the university to get here?
The university’s leadership is now facing questions from its own faculty. Members of Cornell’s Faculty Senate, a governing body composed of professors and other academic staff, are expected to debate whether they have confidence in the university’s leadership to “effectively address the ongoing crisis,” the BBC reports. A no-confidence vote would largely be symbolic, but the fact that the question is even being raised speaks volumes.
A lawyer representing Doe said she filed her civil lawsuit “to achieve her aim of improving Cornell and its response to abuse claims.”
“While the steps announced today are helpful to achieve this goal, they are too late to protect Ms. Doe,” attorney Thomas Giuffra said.
And that’s the problem. New policies might help prevent future harm, but they cannot go back in time and protect someone who says she was failed by the very institution responsible for her safety.
Cornell deserves credit for finally taking more substantial action. But banning frat parties after an alleged assault and threatening suspension for violations shouldn’t be confused with some extraordinary act of courage.
It’s the bare minimum.
Which is literally the least they can do.
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