ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-10-09 · by Phoebe Hosier and Lia Walsh
On a cool night on a suburban street in upstate New York, a red light glows from inside a towering spire atop a monstrous house.
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light → glow → house
Red cups and crushed cider cans litter the property, which now stands as a symbol of a national reckoning at Cornell University's Ivy League campus.
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which → litter → campus
"Bro, look, I'm at the Chi Phi frat," a young man in trackpants says to a friend on FaceTime as he walks by.
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he → look → FaceTime
He passes a sign with Greek letters, stained from a recent egging.
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He → pass → egging
"I know bro.
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I → know → ?
Once home to a fraternity dating back more than 150 years, the property now sits dormant.
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property → date → years
But it has come to international prominence because of explosive gang-rape allegations against seven of its former residents.
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it → come → residents
In an upstairs bedroom, a former student alleges she was drugged and raped for seven hours in 2024, when she was 20.
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she → allege → 2024
The fact the alleged rape took place at one of America's most elite universities — and allegedly involved seven privileged young men — has ignited a firestorm of debate that has led to calls for fraternities to be banned.
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fraternities → allege → calls
'Greek life' under a spotlight
Fraternities are exclusive social clubs for male undergraduate students who typically reside on campus.
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who → reside → campus
About a third of the university's undergraduates students are part of fraternity or sorority culture, known as "Greek life".
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third → know → life
But some students are now protesting the fraternities' existence.
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students → protest → existence
At recent campus demonstrations, "ban the frats" was a popular chant.
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ban → ban → frats
"There are frats that can be very positive with upstanding people, but that's fighting against the current," student Lewis Holland told the ABC at a protest this week.
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Holland → be → protest
"The only way to fix that problem is to get rid of all of them."
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way → fix → them
The North American Interfraternity Conference, which represents dozens of the country's largest fraternities, says they can provide a sense of belonging and lifelong friendships, while helping students develop accountability and leadership skills.
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students → represent → accountability
Fraternities are largely self-governing, with chapters typically run by elected student members, leaving much of the responsibility for discipline and accountability in the hands of students and their national organisations.
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chapters → govern → students
Lewis says that is part of the problem.
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that → say → problem
"From the moment these guys get there, they're taught to disrespect women and that becomes endemic,"he said.
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that → get → women
"They see women as conquests, with this association between sexual degradation and masculine victory."
College fraternities have produced some of America's most powerful men, including presidents, members of Congress, top judges and business leaders.
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fraternities → see → Congress
Critics like Lewis argue some frat brothers carry the culture of misogyny learned at fraternities into positions of power.
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brothers → argue → power
"You see why the Epstein list is so long, you see why there are so many sex scandals from our politics," he said.
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he → see → politics
'Bro code' engenders 'himpathy'
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code → engender → himpathy
A 2026 report by a Cornell task force said 52 per cent of undergraduate women affiliated with a sorority had reported experiencing sexual assault.
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cent → say → assault
More than 1,200 incidents of sexual assault, dating and domestic violence and stalking were reported to Cornell between 2018 and 2024, according to USA Today, citing data reported to New York state.
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incidents → report → state
Fourteen resulted in suspensions and seven in expulsion or dismissal.
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Fourteen → result → expulsion
One of the leading voices now calling for the closure of fraternities is Melbourne-born academic Kate Manne, an expert in feminist philosophy who has been teaching at Cornell for 13 years.
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who → lead → years
She describes fraternities as a "hotbed of misogyny and sexual assault".
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She → describe → misogyny
"There is a very strong code that exists there that says if one man does something illegal or immoral, you just participate," she said during an interview in her campus office.
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she → be → office
"You don't say anything and you don't call it out.
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you → say → it
Maybe you even ratchet it up."
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you → ratchet → it
That "bro code", she said, amounted to a culture of impunity that was reinforced with what she calls "himpathy" — "sympathy and loyalty for the male perpetrator over the female victim".
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she → say → victim
In the college town of Ithaca, a network of cul-de-sacs lined with sororities and fraternities surround the sprawling Cornell campus.
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network → line → campus
Others are gleaming three-storey estates with chandeliers suspended from high ceilings.
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Others → gleam → ceilings
When we visit, one young man exits a frat house in trackpants and heads for a nearby BMW.
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man → visit → BMW
Another leaves in a backwards cap, driving over manicured grass before speeding off in a Range Rover.
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Another → leave → Rover
We doorknocked some of the fraternity houses and spoke to several students in a bid to hear from members of Cornell's fraternities.
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We → doorknocke → fraternities
But many were wary of speaking with media.
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many → speak → media
"Sorry, I can't with my job," one fraternity member told us, a look of terror flashing across his face at the request.
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look → tell → request
But online, fierce debate is raging — not only over the alleged gang rape, but also the bystander culture that may have allowed it to happen.
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it → rag → rape
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
