BUZZ
School also banned frat parties for rest of year
Fallout from a sexual assault lawsuit continues to rock Cornell University, sparking widespread disruptions, including a canceled homecoming drone show and a yearlong ban on fraternity parties.
“Cornell’s annual drone and laser light show, scheduled to kick off homecoming weekend on Oct. 16, has been canceled due to the City of Ithaca’s temporary moratorium on student event permitting,” the Cornell Sun reported.
“We canceled this year’s drone and laser light show to respect the City of Ithaca’s moratorium on permits for student events,” a university spokesperson told The Sun.
Earlier this month, the Ithaca Common Council voted to temporarily ban new event permits for the school and its student groups, citing the university’s “failure” to adequately address the sexual assault case.
The council aims to pressure the school to overhaul its approach to such cases, “including requiring the Cornell University Police Department to hand over sexual assault investigations to the Ithaca Police Department,” the Cornell Sun reported.
Alderperson Jorge DeFendini accused Cornell of thinking “it’s above the law.”
“But they are not above the law. We will hold them and anyone who engages in this [thinking] accountable,” he said.
Additionally, Cornell university officials have banned fraternity parties for the remainder of the academic year.
“All parties and social events in Interfraternity Council (IFC) houses at Cornell will be suspended for the remainder of the 2026-2027 academic year,” University President Michael Kotlikoff wrote in a statement to the campus community Tuesday.
“These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” he stated.
In the same statement, the president said he is “deeply sorry for the harm Jane Doe suffered in 2024” and “appalled” by the incident.
“It is clear that women on our campus continue to question whether they are safe,” he stated.
He also promised to “strengthen campus safety” and provide “better support for survivors.”
Lastly, Cornell students took part in a protest on campus this week, in which they expressed their outrage over the incident through collective screaming.
They also chanted, “Drunk is not consent.” Signs read, “We are all Jane Doe” and “Burn the f*cking frats.”
Earlier this month, Cornell University activists trashed the school’s main administrative building via smashed windows and red spray-painted messages in response to the alleged assault.
The high-profile lawsuit was filed by a former student alleging she was drugged and gang raped at a Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024, sparking debate on consent for both the accuser and the accused, The College Fix previously reported.
MORE: Nancy Pelosi backs out of Cornell talk amid frat assault allegations
