New York
Cornell suspends fraternity parties, gives state police role in investigating campus assault reports
Cornell University is suspending parties and other social events at fraternity houses for the rest of the academic year and will give the New York State Police a role in investigating sex crimes on campus, university officials announced Tuesday, amid mounting outrage over its handling of allegations that a female student was sexually assaulted at a fraternity house in 2024.
The measures announced by Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff include a suspension of all parties and social events at Interfraternity Council houses through the end of the 2026-27 academic year and a new “zero tolerance” policy for violations that would result in the immediate emergency suspension of a chapter.
“These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” Kotlikoff wrote in a letter to the campus community.
The university president said the school would begin conversations with students and faculty experts about “the development of safe social alternatives” to Greek life party culture and invest money to get those initiatives off the ground.
He also committed to adding a case manager to the school’s Office of Civil Rights to help those who report sexual misconduct on the Cornell campus navigate the process, and to working with the New York State Police to allow its criminal investigators — who are independent of Cornell — to investigate allegations.
Crimes reported on Cornell’s campus are generally investigated by campus police, a department that has full law enforcement powers but is controlled by the university. The campus police force operates independently from municipal police in Ithaca, New York, where the university is located. Its officers investigated the 2024 gang rape allegations and presented their initial findings to the Tompkins County district attorney, who declined to prosecute within weeks of the woman making her first report to police.
New York’s governor removed the district attorney from the case this month after a public outcry over the lack of charges.
The investigation is now being led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, while Cornell has hired former Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates to conduct an independent review of the university’s response. New York State Police sometimes handle major crime investigations for small municipal police agencies, bringing in expertise that isn’t available locally.
Kotlikoff acknowledged that sexual violence extends beyond fraternities, saying Cornell must also confront a campus culture of excessive drinking and drug use and expand education about students’ responsibility to intervene when others are at risk.
Cornell also plans to add victim advocates and expand sexual violence prevention programs, including education aimed at encouraging bystanders to intervene, he said, calling the various actions announced Tuesday “first steps toward systemic change on our campus.”
“We will take all necessary steps to address the conditions that led to Jane Doe’s experiences, and those of other survivors,” he said.
Washington
Federal judge orders Trump administration to halt tree-cutting on historic D.C. golf course until Oct. 26
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Tuesday ordered a halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac Golf Course until Oct. 26, putting a further pause on work at the historic D.C. course that has been part of President Donald Trump’s plans to remake the city.
Reyes issued the order one day after a tense three-hour hearing in which she harshly criticized the government for having deceived her with its actions over the holiday weekend.
At the Monday hearing, Reyes ordered a 24-hour pause that could be extended to 14 days if necessary. It was limited to one day while the government tried to find a key Trump administration official to discuss why a massive tree-cutting at the park needed to occur over the holiday weekend, with little notification to plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to halt renovation plans or the judge.
The judge also ordered during that period the government “must provide the court and plaintiffs three business days’ written advance notice prior to making any irreparable modification to any permanent form or feature of the East Potomac Golf Course.”
The DC Preservation League and two individuals are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The Monday hearing and Tuesday order were prompted by the National Park Service ordering the cutting of hundreds of trees at the golf course after filing the court notification only minutes before the close of business on Oct. 9 on a holiday weekend, giving the plaintiffs little time to respond. At least 400 trees were cutdown over the weekend with plans for several hundred more.
The historic park, especially the golf course, caught the eye of Trump, who wants to turn it into a world-class golf venue. It’s part of his grand vision for Washington, D.C., where he has multiple projects underway, including a $400 million White House ballroom and the soon-to-begin construction of his triumphal arch. He began talking about the city’s public courses in late 2025.
“When completed, this Course will have the ability to host Major Golf Tournaments, including The U.S. Open, The Ryder Cup, The PGA Championship, and other top PGA Tour events,” Trump posted on social media in June.
The course has been the subject of multiple emergency hearings, including one in May in which Reyes was out of the country, because of concerns from the plaintiffs that the administration would move ahead with work despite the pending lawsuit. In each instance Reyes declined issuing temporary stop orders out of trust for the government’s attorney in the case.
Cornell suspends fraternity parties, gives state police role in investigating campus assault reports
Cornell University is suspending parties and other social events at fraternity houses for the rest of the academic year and will give the New York State Police a role in investigating sex crimes on campus, university officials announced Tuesday, amid mounting outrage over its handling of allegations that a female student was sexually assaulted at a fraternity house in 2024.
The measures announced by Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff include a suspension of all parties and social events at Interfraternity Council houses through the end of the 2026-27 academic year and a new “zero tolerance” policy for violations that would result in the immediate emergency suspension of a chapter.
“These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” Kotlikoff wrote in a letter to the campus community.
The university president said the school would begin conversations with students and faculty experts about “the development of safe social alternatives” to Greek life party culture and invest money to get those initiatives off the ground.
He also committed to adding a case manager to the school’s Office of Civil Rights to help those who report sexual misconduct on the Cornell campus navigate the process, and to working with the New York State Police to allow its criminal investigators — who are independent of Cornell — to investigate allegations.
Crimes reported on Cornell’s campus are generally investigated by campus police, a department that has full law enforcement powers but is controlled by the university. The campus police force operates independently from municipal police in Ithaca, New York, where the university is located. Its officers investigated the 2024 gang rape allegations and presented their initial findings to the Tompkins County district attorney, who declined to prosecute within weeks of the woman making her first report to police.
New York’s governor removed the district attorney from the case this month after a public outcry over the lack of charges.
The investigation is now being led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, while Cornell has hired former Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates to conduct an independent review of the university’s response. New York State Police sometimes handle major crime investigations for small municipal police agencies, bringing in expertise that isn’t available locally.
Kotlikoff acknowledged that sexual violence extends beyond fraternities, saying Cornell must also confront a campus culture of excessive drinking and drug use and expand education about students’ responsibility to intervene when others are at risk.
Cornell also plans to add victim advocates and expand sexual violence prevention programs, including education aimed at encouraging bystanders to intervene, he said, calling the various actions announced Tuesday “first steps toward systemic change on our campus.”
“We will take all necessary steps to address the conditions that led to Jane Doe’s experiences, and those of other survivors,” he said.
Washington
Federal judge orders Trump administration to halt tree-cutting on historic D.C. golf course until Oct. 26
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Tuesday ordered a halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac Golf Course until Oct. 26, putting a further pause on work at the historic D.C. course that has been part of President Donald Trump’s plans to remake the city.
Reyes issued the order one day after a tense three-hour hearing in which she harshly criticized the government for having deceived her with its actions over the holiday weekend.
At the Monday hearing, Reyes ordered a 24-hour pause that could be extended to 14 days if necessary. It was limited to one day while the government tried to find a key Trump administration official to discuss why a massive tree-cutting at the park needed to occur over the holiday weekend, with little notification to plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to halt renovation plans or the judge.
The judge also ordered during that period the government “must provide the court and plaintiffs three business days’ written advance notice prior to making any irreparable modification to any permanent form or feature of the East Potomac Golf Course.”
The DC Preservation League and two individuals are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The Monday hearing and Tuesday order were prompted by the National Park Service ordering the cutting of hundreds of trees at the golf course after filing the court notification only minutes before the close of business on Oct. 9 on a holiday weekend, giving the plaintiffs little time to respond. At least 400 trees were cutdown over the weekend with plans for several hundred more.
The historic park, especially the golf course, caught the eye of Trump, who wants to turn it into a world-class golf venue. It’s part of his grand vision for Washington, D.C., where he has multiple projects underway, including a $400 million White House ballroom and the soon-to-begin construction of his triumphal arch. He began talking about the city’s public courses in late 2025.
“When completed, this Course will have the ability to host Major Golf Tournaments, including The U.S. Open, The Ryder Cup, The PGA Championship, and other top PGA Tour events,” Trump posted on social media in June.
The course has been the subject of multiple emergency hearings, including one in May in which Reyes was out of the country, because of concerns from the plaintiffs that the administration would move ahead with work despite the pending lawsuit. In each instance Reyes declined issuing temporary stop orders out of trust for the government’s attorney in the case.
