A University of Southern California student is calling for every fraternity in the country to be shut down, arguing that the “Cornell 7” case isn’t just a wake-up call, it’s proof of a system beyond repair.
“Fraternity members engaging in sexual violence is nothing new,” political science student Charlotte Dekle writes in an opinion piece published by USC’s student newspaper, the Daily Trojan.
“What might have once been an outlet for young men to build community has become a system that often enables sexual violence and other unspeakable horrors. Thus, disaffiliation is not enough; they must be abolished,” Dekle, the student paper’s opinion editor, argues.
Dekle cites a 2007 study by College of William and Mary researcher John Foubert, which found that men in fraternities are three times more likely to commit sexual violence.
The article comes after a former Cornell University student, identified as Jane Doe, filed a sprawling 101-page lawsuit accusing seven Chi Phi fraternity brothers of a drug-fueled gang rape at the fraternity house.
Jane Doe arrived at the Chi Phi fraternity house intoxicated, where she was allegedly coerced into taking ketamine. She claims she was repeatedly sexually assaulted over several hours while drifting in and out of consciousness, according to the lawsuit filed in September 2026.
Dekle writes that Cornell isn’t the only university where incidents of sexual assault are taking place. She highlights several cases of alleged drug abuse and rape at USC. In 2021, someone was allegedly drugged and raped at the university’s Sigma Nu fraternity.
“Sigma Nu, along with five other fraternities, disaffiliated from USC after the University dared to monitor their behavior after sexual assault allegations,” she writes.
She says that decision made things worse. After the 2021 incidents, USC introduced sexual violence prevention workshops and security guards at gatherings, but disaffiliated chapters are no longer bound by those measures.
Under Title IX the university would be responsible only for assaults at school-sanctioned events, and “rogue fraternities would not apply,” Dekle says.
Dekle’s article goes beyond sexual violence, linking fraternities to alcohol abuse, racism, hate crimes and homophobia. It argues that the groups survive mainly because they offer financial and networking advantages, including higher alumni incomes, more donations to schools and job pipelines for fellow members.
“Frats can not only act as incubators of power differentials, but also a runway to future power. The power differential that is required for fraternities to exist is the same one that leads to the sexual assault of women,” Dekle writes in her article.
She says that the fraternity activities are equally abusive towards boys, citing the September case where leaders of the University of Wisconsin-Madison chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi were arrested after dozens of members were found chained in a basement covered in condiments.
The same month, a University of Arizona fraternity was suspended after pledges were allegedly made to swallow live goldfish.
Dekle argues that sororities, which often depend on fraternities for social events, face pressure to stay silent. She cites a study published in St. John’s University’s Journal of Vincentian Social Action which states that women in sororities are 74% more likely to be raped than nonmembers.
“They need to be abolished so we can finally begin to rectify and confront the pain of the generations of survivors who have been subjected to others’ abuses of power,” writes Dekle.
