Mayor moves to ban Cornell event permits after rape allegations

The mayor of Ithaca, the New York city home to Cornell University, called for a ban on student event and special event permits in the wake of "sickening" allegations of a 2024 gang-rape on campus.

A young woman, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, filed a civil lawsuit in New York alleging that multiple members of the Chi Phi fraternity took part in her sexual assault nearly two years ago, referring to the alleged assault as a “gang rape.” The complaint also accuses Cornell University of failing to protect the woman.

New York prosecutors reopened the criminal investigation into the assault after declining to bring charges in November 2024, when the woman first reported the assault to law enforcement in a statement that "did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped," according to Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.

Mayor Robert Cantelmo said the university also failed to coordinate a response with the Ithaca Police Department and hold the alleged perpetrators accountable, calling the incident "a miscarriage of justice."

"Given this appalling response from university administration, I have no choice but to declare a new policy directive and corresponding Common Council resolution…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/