Nearly 22 hours before a former Cornell student alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house, the Cornell University Police Department made a drug-related arrest at the same house and referred an individual to the Office of Student Conduct, according to CUPD’s Daily Crime Log.
A former Cornell student, identified as Jane Doe, filed a Sept.14 lawsuit alleging that she was gang raped on the evening of Oct. 19, 2024 into the early morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024 after being coerced into consuming drugs at the Chi Phi fraternity house.
Because CUPD is a University department rather than an outside agency, records show that Cornell was aware of drug use at the Chi Phi house. The University did not place the fraternity on an interim suspension before it hosted a second registered party later that day, during which the alleged assault occurred.
When Jane Doe issued her complaint to CUPD, the Chi Phi fraternity was placed on suspension effective Nov. 8, 2024, twenty days after the drug arrest.
Chi Phi was registered to host a party at its fraternity house at 107 Edgemoor Ln. — which is owned by the University — on Oct. 18, 2024 beginning at 10:30 p.m., according to a screenshot of Sorority and Fraternity Life’s registered events obtained by The Sun.
According to an archived page of CUPD’s Daily Crime Log, CUPD found drugs at the Chi Phi house just hours before Jane Doe’s alleged drugging and sexual assault.
On Oct. 19, 2024 at 1:05 a.m., CUPD responded to a call at the Chi Phi house. Between 1:03 a.m. and 1:41 a.m., CUPD made a drug-related arrest at the fraternity house and referred an individual to Cornell’s Office of Student Conduct.
Hours later, on Oct. 19, 2024 at approximately 8:30 p.m., Jane Doe allegedly took an Uber from Alpha Beta Chapter of Tri Delta’s sorority house at 118 Triphammer Rd., arriving at Moonies Bar & Nightclub around 9 p.m., according to the lawsuit.
After stopping at Lot 10 Bar and Lounge, Jane Doe claimed that she drunkenly walked to the Chi Phi house at around 11 p.m.
On Nov. 8, 2024, CUPD received a report of a sexual assault that allegedy occured at the Chi Phi house between 11 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2024 and 5:45 a.m. on Oct. 20, 2024, according to the lawsuit.
Cornell University SFL Social Event Policy states that “No person may possess, use, provide, distribute, sell, and/or manufacture illegal drugs or other controlled substances while on organizational/chapter premises or at any activity or event sponsored or endorsed by the organization.”
If a violation poses health and safety risks, the policy states that “the chapter may be immediately placed on interim suspension, with all chapter activities ceased pending the outcome of an organizational conduct proceeding.”
The University did not directly answer who has the discretion to place a fraternity or sorority on interim suspension.
The policy has been effective since 2021 and was last updated on Sept. 10, 2025. Cornell did not provide The Sun with the version of the policy effective in November 2024. The Sun could not obtain a previous version of this policy that was in effect during the time of these incidents.
The Sun reached out to CUPD to clarify procedures including the timeline between an arrest and referral to the Office of Student Conduct and when the University became aware of the arrest. CUPD did not respond to a request for comment.
When asked how soon after a CUPD arrest the Office of Student Conduct is notified of a referral, a University spokesperson responded, “No comment.”
A recently released hearing panel decision from Cornell’s Title IX investigation into the alleged assault noted that an individual overdosed at Chi Phi.
“Ketamine was a substance used by multiple individuals in the Chi Phi house at the time, including [redacted] who had overdosed on or about Oct.18, 2024,” according to the investigation document.
Multiple sources familiar with the situation verified with The Sun that there was a drug-related health concern that night.
The lawsuit states that prior to the incident, Cornell knew or should have known that Xi Chapter had a history of drug-use culture, specifically ketamine.
According to the lawsuit, Cornell knew, or should have known, that they did not have sufficient information about whether the fraternity house was safe and if its members posed a danger to fellow students, including Jane Doe.
Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, The Sun requested the event report and related dispatch records for any police, fire, ambulance or Emergency Medical Service response to 107 Edgemoor Ln. in October 2024 from Tompkins County and the City of Ithaca.
Tompkins County and the City of Ithaca had no records responsive to the request.
The University is generally not subject to state or federal laws regulating access to public agency records as a private university, though it is obligated to share records to New York State concerning public funding of colleges operated under contract with the state.
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) has called for an external review of Cornell University’s response to Jane Doe’s allegations. Cornell agreed to move forward with the review on Wednesday, according to Hochul.
Editor’s note: Cereese Qusba is a member of Tri Delta at Cornell.
Cereese Qusba is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She was a news editor for the 143rd Editorial Board and is a senior editor for the 144th Editorial Board. She can be reached at cqusba@cornellsun.com.
