Cornell Suspends Frat Parties After Alleged Druggings

Cornell University announced Monday that all frat parties and social events have been suspended following an alleged sexual assault and multiple reports of students being drugged at off-campus housing. Per NBC News, Cornell’s Intrafraternity Council made the decision after an emergency meeting Sunday night. Earlier that day, campus police issued a crime alert after an individual reported being sexually assaulted sometime between 2:30am and 4:30am. Per CNN, police had previously issued an alert Friday night after learning of at least four incidents "in which students reported to have consumed little to no alcohol at an off-campus location but became incapacitated while attending parties" held between late September and early November.

In a statement cited by CBS News, Cornell President Martha Pollack and VP of Student Life Ryan Lombardi wrote, "Like you, we are outraged and saddened. We strongly condemn the actions of all individuals responsible for these criminal violations … All found responsible will be held accountable.” Police say the drugged students believe they were given Rohypnol, or "roofies," also known as the "date-rape drug." Ithaca police are investigating the sexual assault allegations. No fraternities were named; however, the Ithaca Voice reports that a "drugging incident" involving multiple victims was recorded Nov. 3 in the campus police Daily Crime Log, which gave the address as 800 University Ave., "where the Theta Delta Chi fraternity currently has a house."

The New York Times takes a look back, noting the school had more reported sexual assaults in the first five months of 2018 than any other campus in New York, and in 2020 it ranked fourth in the state for reported sexual assaults. Cornell was also home to the very first fraternity hazing death in the United States in 1873, and at least two students have died in hazing incidents there this century, most recently in 2019, when freshman Antonio Tsialas was found dead at the bottom of a ravine. The university later punished 39 students connected to the party he had attended. (More Cornell University stories.)