NYC Council Speaker Demands University Testimony on Fraternity Sex Assaults

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin is demanding that the presidents of 10 major universities testify about their handling of sexual assault on campus.

The call for accountability follows the “Cornell 7” scandal, a case involving an alleged drug-fueled gang rape at an upstate Ithaca fraternity house. According to reporting by the New York Post, Menin sent formal letters on Tuesday to the leaders of several prominent institutions, including Columbia University, New York University, Fordham University, and the City University of New York.

These officials are being requested to appear before the council’s Committee on Higher Education for a hearing scheduled for Dec. 15. The move aims to address a pattern of misconduct that continues to affect the city’s massive student population.

The scale of campus misconduct

New York City serves as a global hub for higher education, housing roughly 500,000 students across more than 100 colleges and universities within the five boroughs. Despite the scale of these institutions, sexual violence remains a persistent issue on local campuses.

State data regarding the “Enough is Enough” law highlights the frequency of these incidents. In the 2024 school year, Title IX offices across the 10 universities targeted by the council reported 1,100 incidents of sexual misconduct.

The disciplinary outcomes for these reports appear low relative to the total number of incidents. The data shows that of those 1,100 cases, only six resulted in expulsion and 10 led to suspensions.

Metric	Reported Figures (2024 School Year)
Total sexual misconduct incidents	1,100
Cases resulting in suspension	10

“Rather than waiting for another scandal to occur, the Council is proactively calling university leadership before the public to answer questions directly about the accountability measures in place,” the City Council said in a statement.

Catalysts for the investigation

The Cornell scandal provided the immediate impetus for this legislative push. A lawsuit filed in September alleges that seven men were involved in a gang rape of a former Cornell sorority student at a fraternity house in October 2024. The suit claims one of the men used a fraternity Snapchat group to advertise “free p—y” in connection with the attack.

Beyond the Cornell case, the council pointed to a federal case involving a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In that instance, a man was accused of drugging the student with fentanyl and raping her in her dorm room in March; the student died in the hospital several days later.

While FIT is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, it was not included in the list of schools requested to testify. The 10 universities currently under scrutiny include:

Columbia University
New York University
Fordham University
City University of New York (CUNY)
St. John’s University
Pace University
The New School
Mercy University
Touro College
Yeshiva University

The council holds power in these negotiations, as these 10 universities receive more than $41 million in discretionary funding from the city. The council hopes this financial connection will encourage participation in the upcoming hearing.

The Dec. 15 hearing will not be limited to administrators. A council spokesperson noted that students and survivors of sexual assault will also be invited to provide testimony regarding their experiences and the institutional responses they encountered.

It is unclear whether university presidents will answer for the disparity between reported incidents and disciplinary actions.

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