Seven men, one fraternity house, and what a university cannot doCornell 7 case puts a spotlight on fraternity misconduct – and the limits of universities’ power to stop it

A Cornell student says seven Chi Phi members drugged and gang-raped her in 2024. The university closed the chapter and expelled students, but only a prosecutor can bring criminal charges.

In 2024, a Cornell sophomore known as Jane Doe said she was drugged and gang-raped by seven Chi Phi members at the fraternity's on-campus house. No charges were filed at the time.

Two years later she sued, and the case went national. The local district attorney has since said he wants to discuss 'new evidence' with her.

What a university can actually do

A university can pull a fraternity's campus recognition, expel or suspend accused students, and let campus police hand evidence to outside law enforcement.

What it cannot do is file criminal charges — that belongs to the prosecutor. Worse, a fraternity can register as a private off-campus organisation: bar it from campus events and it can still hold gatherings elsewhere.

The drinking age pushed parties into the basement

In 1984 the US raised the legal drinking age to 21, aiming to cut drunk-driving deaths. Students who could no longer drink legally moved into fraternity houses instead.

Binge drinking, hazing and sexual assault stayed campus problems for decades. The groups that actually changed state hazing laws were often not universities but parents who had lost children.

The hard part is proving you are man enough

The author argues that underneath it all sits a hypermasculine fraternity culture: drink hard, take risks, show no weakness, stay silent.

The same logic runs through the military and sports teams, and it can turn sexual violence into a form of proof. Punishing individuals is not enough; the organisation's norms have to change too.