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Cornell Frat Banned After Member Allegedly Attacked Black Student & Yelled Racial Slurs
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Sep 20, 2017
Modified Sep 20, 2017
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Sep 20, 2017
Modified Sep 20, 2017
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A fraternity at Cornell University has been kicked off campus after members were accused of beating up a black student and using racial slurs.
According to a statement from Ryan Lombardi, the university's Vice President for Student and Campus Life, a student was arrested on the morning of September 15th for allegedly assaulting and yelling racial epithets at a black student. Yesterday, the Ithaca Police Department identified the student as 19-year-old John Greenwood—he's been charged with assault, and witnesses say other students were involved in the incident as well.
Though police did not confirm whether Greenwood was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, in Lombardi's statement he mentioned the involved student was a member of a "currently unaffiliated fraternity"—Psi Upsilon was suspended from campus in 2016 after its president was accused of sexual assault. The university has mandated the fraternity will not reopen.
"I am appalled at this incident and will continue to condemn any action that targets the identities and the human dignity of our students," Lombardi wrote in his statement. "Such incidents of violence, even if they occur off-campus, are subject to disciplinary proceedings through the Campus Code of Conduct. Pending the outcome of the investigation, the students responsible will be sanctioned and the ability of the fraternity to return to campus will no longer be considered."
Cornell University's president, Martha Pollack, said in a statement, "I will not tell you 'this is not who we are,' as the events of the past few weeks belie that. But it is absolutely not who we want to be."
Greenwood's attorney told the Times his client was not "involved in any physical altercation of any kind," and did not commit a crime.
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Rebecca Fishbein
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