Student Assembly - Resolution 21 (2026-2027)
Abolition of the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and its Affiliated Fraternitites
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Term:
2026-2027
- Assembly:
- Status: Tabled Indefinitely
- Abstract: This resolution seeks to formally abolish the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and its affiliated fraternities.
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See full resolution
Whereas, fraternities have existed at Cornell University for nearly as long as the University itself, and their longstanding presence has entrenched an institution repeatedly associated with hazing, dangerous alcohol consumption, exclusionary practices, sexual misconduct, and threats to student health and safety within Cornell’s social and residential life,
Whereas, according to the Presidential Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault Final Report published on March 10th, 2026, “35% of Cornell undergraduate women (23% in 2023) and 8% of men (9% in 2023) reported experiencing a sexual assault during their time at Cornell,” [9]
Whereas, the same report found a substantial disparity by Greek affiliation, with 52% of Greek-affiliated undergraduate women who responded reporting experiencing sexual assault, compared with 29% of undergraduate women who were not Greek-affiliated, [9]
Whereas, the Task Force further reported that fraternity chapter houses accounted for 17% of the reported locations of sexual assaults in the 2025 survey, making fraternity houses the third-most commonly reported location after residence halls and off-campus residences; the report additionally noted that 6% of reported incidents in the 2023 data occurred in fraternity annexes, [9]
Whereas, the allegations surrounding the Chi Phi case raise concerns toward the culture and group dynamics alleged to have enabled it, including an allegation that a fraternity member sent a message to a Snapchat group titled “Chi Phi Actives” inviting other members upstairs while the alleged assault was occurring,
Whereas, the crisis surrounding fraternity life at Cornell cannot be understood solely through the lens of sexual violence, nor can it be attributed to a single chapter, incident, or generation of students, as Cornell fraternities have faced recurring allegations and findings involving hazing, dangerous alcohol consumption, humiliation, physical abuse, drugging, sexual misconduct, and other threats to student safety,
Whereas Cornell’s own hazing-prevention history documents university interventions stretching back decades, including the creation of a Task Force on Hazing in 2001–2002, efforts to reform pledging and new-member education, restrictions on alcohol-related activities, repeated sanctions against organizations, and successive calls from University presidents for reform of Greek life,
Whereas, in 2011, Cornell student George Desdunes died following a fraternity hazing ritual in which Sigma Alpha Epsilon pledges bound his wrists and ankles with zip ties and duct tape, compelled him to consume alcohol until he repeatedly lost consciousness, and, rather than seeking immediate medical attention, left him on a couch in the library to be found by cleaning staff the following morning; Cornell subsequently withdrew recognition from Sigma Alpha Epsilon for at least five years and ordered its chapter house vacated, yet the fraternity was permitted to return to Cornell in 2022, [3]
Whereas, in 2018, Cornell placed the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity on probation following an investigation into a competition in which new members accumulated points based on sexual encounters with women, with additional points reportedly awarded based on the women’s weight [4],
Whereas, in 2019, first-year Cornell student Antonio Tsialas was found dead at the bottom of Fall Creek gorge after attending an unregistered Phi Kappa Psi pledging event where he consumed copious amounts of alcohol, after which Cornell again instituted reforms to Greek life, including independent event monitors and security spot checks, [5]
Whereas, in 2022, Cornell temporarily suspended fraternity parties following reports of sexual assault and students being drugged at off-campus residences affiliated with fraternities, requiring fraternity leadership to again develop stronger health and safety plans, [2]
Whereas, in 2024, Cornell University temporarily suspended and later banned the Chi Phi fraternity following allegations that multiple fraternity members drugged and gang-raped a Cornell student inside the fraternity house, [6,10]
Whereas, Cornell has therefore spent decades responding to serious fraternity misconduct through task forces, education programs, alcohol restrictions, monitoring requirements, disciplinary sanctions, chapter suspensions, and repeated structural reforms, yet serious allegations and documented misconduct have continued,
Whereas, the recurrence of serious misconduct following rounds of reform raises the question of whether misconduct within the fraternity system can be adequately addressed through further incremental reform, or whether the structure itself must be abolished,
Whereas, the abolition of fraternity systems has precedent across American higher education: Williams College eliminated fraternities in the 1960s citing racist and antisemitic practices [7]; Ithaca College abolished social Greek life in 1980 following the hazing death of an 18 year old first year student; Amherst College abolished fraternities in 1984 and later prohibited participation in underground and off-campus fraternities [8]; Bowdoin College banned fraternities in 1997 amid concerns over a heavy-drinking culture, exclusivity, hazing, and the 1996 death of a student[12]; Alfred University abolished fraternities and sororities in 2002 following a fatal hazing incident [1]; and Swarthmore College’s two fraternities disbanded in 2019 amid sustained student pressure and the publication of documents containing misogynistic and degrading discussions about women, with its Board Chairman declaring that the Greek system was “beyond repair,” [11]
Whereas, Cornell has experienced the same harms that compelled other universities to abolish their fraternity systems, as documented in Lines 34–59 of this resolution, yet Cornell has continued to rely on suspensions, sanctions, and incremental reforms rather than confronting the fraternity system as a whole,
Whereas, the fraternity system has fostered a culture of toxic-masculinity, misogyny, bigotry, sexual misconduct and aggression, hazing, substance abuse, binge drinking, elitism, social hierarchies, post-graduation nepotism and group loyalty that perpetuate harm and shield members from accountability,
Whereas, these harms are not isolated incidents, but reflect a systematic and institutionalized culture sustained by fraternity structures, traditions, and practices that have allowed harmful behavior to persist across chapters and generations,
Whereas, on October 5th, 2026, thousands of students, faculty, employees, alumni and members of the Cornell community gathered at Ho Plaza and marched to Day Hall demanding, among other things, the abolition of the IFC and IFC affiliated fraternities,
Whereas, this resolution recognizes the fundamental distinction between fraternities governed by Cornell’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) and organizations represented by the Multicultural Greek and Fraternal Council (MGFC); MGFC organizations were founded by and for Black, Latino/a, Asian, Indigenous, and other historically marginalized students who were excluded from or underserved by traditional Greek-letter institutions, and these organizations hold distinct historical and cultural significance as spaces for community, cultural preservation, mutual support, service, and belonging,
Be it therefore resolved, that the Student Assembly recommends that Cornell University abolish the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and withdraw University recognition from all IFC-affiliated fraternity chapters,
Be it further resolved, that this recommendation take effect beginning with the 2027–2028 academic year, providing students currently residing in IFC fraternity chapter houses sufficient time to secure alternative housing and allowing Cornell adequate time to develop a transition plan,
Be it finally resolved, that Cornell University develop a plan to transition former IFC fraternity chapter houses, into affordable University-operated or other non-fraternity student housing, expanding residential capacity and ensuring that spaces previously reserved primarily for members of private fraternity organizations can instead serve the broader Cornell student community.
Respectfully Submitted,
Adam Sendelbach
School of Industrial and Labor Relation Representative, Student AssemblyYasmeen Masoud
Brooks School of Public Policy Representative, Student AssemblyVice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Student Assembly
Strummer Dunn
Students with Disabilities Representative, Student AssemblyAmelia Lyons
College of Architecture, Art, and Planning Representative, Student AssemblyAdriana Vink
Student Workers Representative, Student Assembly[1] Arenson, Karen W. "University Announces Ban on Fraternities and Sororities." Nytimes.com, The New York Times, 22 May 2002, www.nytimes.com/2002/05/22/nyregion/university-announces-ban-on-fraternities-and-sororities.html.
[2] Associated Press. "Cornell frat parties on hold; druggings, assault reported." AP News, 8 Nov. 2022, apnews.com/article/education-ithaca-cornell-university-a2db72714652db55b3e89833335afaf8.
[3] "Fraternity chapter guilty in Cornell hazing death." AP News, 28 June 2012, apnews.com/9708a9675f3d4b38b88fc2b6a666ebb8.
[4] "Fraternity disciplined for sex contest dubbed Pig Roast." AP News, 6 Feb. 2018, apnews.com/bcde145b90aa470697e8544b342e890a.
[5] Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas. "A Drunken Hazing, a Fatal Fall and a Cornell Fraternity’s Silence." Nytimes.com, The New York Times, 13 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/13/nyregion/cornell-fraternities-hazing-death-antonio-tsialas.html.
[6] Hollingsworth, Heather. "Cornell's Reckonings with Fraternities Haven't Prevented Misconduct." OPD, 30 Sept. 2026, www.opb.org/article/2026/09/30/cornell-s-reckonings-with-fraternities-haven-t-prevented-misconduct/.
[7] Margalotti, Jaime. "Fraternities, Abolition of." specialcollections.williams.edu, Williams College, specialcollections.williams.edu/williams-history/groups/abolition-of-fraternities/.
[8] Murphy, Cullen. "Board statement and resolution on fraternities." amherst.edu, Board of Trustees, Amherst College, 6 May 2014, www.amherst.edu/about/president-college-leadership/trustees/statements/node/546181.
[9] "Presidential Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault." president.cornell.edu, Office of the President | Cornell University, 10 Mar. 2026, president.cornell.edu/initiatives/task-force-sa/tfsa-final-report-2026.pdf.
[10] Qusba, Cereese. "Cornell, Chi Phi Sued by Victim of Alleged Gang Rape, Drugging in 2024." cornellsun.com, The Cornell Daily Sun, 18 Sept. 2026, www.cornellsun.com/article/2026/09/tccsuykuvb4z.
[11]Romo, Vanessa. "Swarthmore Fraternities Disband Over Leaked Documents That Detailed Misogyny." NPR, 2 May 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/05/02/718969495/swarthmore-fraternities-disband-over-leaked-documents-that-detailed-misogyny.
[12] Schafir, Reuben. "End of an era: the final years of Bowdoin’s fraternities." bowdoinorient.com, The Bowdoin Orient, 4 Feb. 2022, bowdoinorient.com/2022/02/04/end-of-an-era-the-final-years-of-bowdoins-fraternities/.
- Resolution File:
- Supporting Documents:
- Sponsors: Adam Sendelbach (ams928), Yasmeen Masoud (yrm9)
- Reviewing Committee: