Cornell’s Greek life should end permanently if found to be not safe, school president says

Updated on: October 15, 2026 / 1:02 PM EDT / CBS News

Greek life at Cornell University should be ended permanently if leadership can't be convinced that fraternity gatherings there can be safe, the school's president, Michael Kotlikoff, said at a contentious meeting of the Faculty Senate on Wednesday night.

"I really appreciate the sentiment of a lot of faculty and a lot of leadership of the university that have said to me it's time for Greek life to go," Kotlikoff said at the meeting. "I do think as an academic institution we should study things, make decisions based on data and fact."

"If at the end of the day, fraternities cannot exist in a safe environment and we can't be convinced that they can be safe, then we should make that decision," he continued. "But we should make it, it seems to me, based on data and study and expertise, not on emotion."

Kotlikoff made the remarks at the start of a meeting where Faculty Senate members debated a resolution of no confidence in the school's administration. A vote on it is expected following another meeting Oct. 28.

The meeting was closed to the media, but CBS News New…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/