By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-05 22:06:48 | Updated at 2026-10-05 23:29:10
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While the alleged gang rape at Cornell has shocked the public and spurred an outcry, for many women in the Greek system, the horrific news sadly came as no surprise.
I talked to a number of current and former sorority sisters, and none found what occurred at the Ithaca Ivy shocking.
For years, sorority chapters across the country have held orientations about assault and drinking, and national organizations reinforce the messaging. It just seems that abuse is inherent to the system, and it’s treated as such.
“A lot of our girls were like, ‘Yeah, this is something that happens. This is something that we’re familiar with,” said Riley Kate Higgins, a 22-year-old senior in environmental engineering at the University of Washington, where she’s the president of Panhellenic board.
But, she noted, “A lot of our girls have been a little scared — [especially] our new members, because we just started up school again and are kind of forced to think about [sexual assault] in a time where they should be excited about going out and excited about going to school and starting that new environment …I think it just makes every woman pause a little bit, whether they’re affiliated with Greek life or not.”
An anonymous member of Alpha Delta Pi at a northeastern state school told me that in the wake of the Cornell case, “We have been talking a lot about how to be safe and avoid situations like that … and at night, we’re always making sure our doors are locked, and, when we’re going out, we’re making sure our drinks are covered.”
She also believes that some frat brothers are waking up: “I think guys are more aware in a sense that they’re, like, more nervous and obviously they don’t want to run into a situation like that.”
Elsewhere, young women are struggling with how to respond to the national outcry. One sorority president took to Reddit to say that “as I’m sure is true for everyone here, the Cornell case has been heavy on the hearts of the girls in my organization.”
She continued, “As a rape survivor, I am feeling really overwhelmed by my girls demanding we put out a statement, talk about it in chapter. I have sat down a million times trying to write a coherent statement, and I just can’t do it. I haven’t been able to leave my bed or eat in days.”
Meanwhile, sorority alums also expressed little surprise. “[We were] all aware that something could happen [when we went out partying with fraternity brothers],” one former James Madison University sorority sister told me. “I’ve been drugged. It’s surreal to me that this is still happening,”
Schools and Greek life organizations have been trying to solve this problem for years, to no avail. This comes after years of sororities desperately warning members about how to protect themselves against sexual assault. All the way back in 2014, Zeta Tau Alpha released a “Drunk Does Not Equal Consent” chapter guide.
In more recent years, sororities across the country have rolled out a “sober sister” program, designating one sorority sister as the watchdog responsible for keeping an eye over their fellow sisters at parties.
The program seems to have been in place at Cornell. According to court documents, Jane Doe herself was supposed to be the sober sister for her Tri Delta chapter on the night of her assault. Plans changed when she was robbed earlier that day and decided to relinquish that responsibility.
The scandal comes as sororities and fraternities have already weathered blows to their reputations on campus. At Stanford, 41% of students said they wanted to abolish Greek life. Numbers were even worse at Washington University in St. Louis, where a Student Union Survey found 65% of all students and even 58% of sorority members themselves supported doing so.
They’ve also been losing the support of the public. Per a 2023 YouGov poll, less than a quarter of Americans think that sororities and fraternities have a positive impact on campus culture.
Even TikTok Greek life influencer Brandis Bradley told The Post she’s losing faith in the system. “It’s never going to be the empowering experience I want it to be for young women, I’m afraid,” she said.
Alabama-based rush coach Bill Alverson still worries that there are still too many girls naive to the prospect of sexual assault on campus.
“It is something that people are cognizant and aware of,” he told me, “but then there’s the other type of person that thinks it’s all Skittles with rainbows and lots of fun and nothing bad will happen… Bullshit.”
