Cornell University is facing criticism over explicit sexual-health materials that encourage students to discuss group sex, BDSM and sexual encounters involving drugs or alcohol.
The controversy comes as the Ivy League institution continues to face scrutiny over allegations of a gang rape involving seven fraternity members.
The prestigious New York university distributed a sexual checklist asking students to consider a range of experiences, including having multiple partners and engaging in intimacy after consuming alcohol or recreational drugs.
The materials, produced by Cornell Health, have resurfaced amid anger over an alleged ketamine-related sexual assault at the university’s Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024.
Cornell said the documents were designed to help students discuss sexual preferences and personal boundaries. Critics, however, contend that their explicit subject matter sends an inappropriate message to impressionable students.
The criticism has prompted questions about whether Cornell’s sexual-education approach risks blurring the boundaries of consent. There is no evidence that the materials had any connection to the alleged assault.
One document under scrutiny is a 2019 worksheet titled ‘Yes, No, Maybe So: A Sexual Inventory Stocklist,’ which asks participants to identify their interest in a broad range of sexual activities.
Among its suggestions are “Sex of some kind(s) with three partners at a time” and “Sex of some kind(s) with more than three partners at a time.”
The worksheet also asks students to consider “Some kind of casual or occasional open/non-exclusive sexual relationship.”
Cornell distributed fact sheets discussing fetish gear and mutual touching
Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter was shut down in 2024 following the allegations and remains barred from campus
The alleged incident took place in 2024, but the Tompkins County district attorney declined to prosecute. (Pictured: The Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell)
Another line on the checklist asks students to consider “Initiating or having sex while or after I have been drinking alcohol or other recreational drugs.”
That passage has drawn particular attention because the allegations involve a Cornell student who was reportedly sexually assaulted after consuming alcohol and ketamine at a fraternity party.
Cornell Health has also published a worksheet titled ‘Sexual Pleasure: Finding the Sweet Spot,’ which covers topics including BDSM, fetish equipment and sex toys.
A separate guide, ‘Sensate Focus,’ focuses on physical intimacy and mutual touching.
An archived Cornell sexual-health campaign website obtained by the New York Post stated that resident advisers were encouraged to display the materials on bulletin boards in student dormitories through April.
Cornell sophomore Jared Lederman, 19, who drew attention to the checklist in a Substack post, accused the university of creating what he called a “permission structure” that could contribute to situations involving disputed consent.
“Cornell isn’t directly responsible for the alleged gang rape, but the group sex act they are endorsing could very well lead to non-consensual activity, they inherently lead to a gray area,” Lederman told the Post.
Cornell’s controversial sexual-education fact sheets encouraged students to explore their preferences through checklists addressing group sex, BDSM, open relationships and intimate encounters involving alcohol or recreational drugs
Cornell’s explicit sexual checklist asked students to indicate whether they were interested in dozens of activities, including orgies, BDSM and sex involving alcohol or drugs
People shout during a protest against Cornell University’s handling of an alleged sexual assault on campus, in Ithaca, New York earlier this week
Footage obtained by ABC News allegedly shows the frat-house bedroom where Jane Doe claims she was assaulted by seven Chi Phi fraternity brothers
The footage shows trash littered around the room where Doe alleges she was assaulted. The clip also shows a metal bedframe without a mattress and a platform bed inside the bedroom
Bethany Mandel, co-host of The Mom Wars podcast, was equally scathing.
‘Progressives have insisted on blurring the boundaries on safe and healthy sexual relationships for a long time. On campus at Cornell, we’re seeing the end result of that decision,’ she said.
The Daily Mail has contacted Cornell for further comment.
The controversy comes as Cornell faces intense scrutiny over allegations made by a former student identified in court documents as Jane Doe.
The woman claims she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple members of Chi Phi during a fraternity gathering in October 2024.
Her civil lawsuit alleges that she was given ketamine, marijuana and alcohol before being subjected to sexual acts without her consent.
According to the complaint, fraternity members exchanged disturbing Snapchat messages during the alleged incident, including one advertising ‘free p***y.’
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Another message allegedly declared: ‘you can walk in and whip it out.’
The allegations have triggered widespread anger on campus, protests by students and renewed questions about how Cornell investigates sexual misconduct.
Among the seven men named in the lawsuit is Matthew Ingalls, who was expelled following an internal Title IX investigation.
Matthew Ingalls, one of the Cornell frat brothers expelled from the Ivy League school over explosive sexual assault allegations, was on the rugby team and joined Chi Phi, one of America’s oldest fraternities, after enrolling at the school
A now-deleted LinkedIn profile bearing Ingalls’ name and photograph previously listed him as working for Data Annotation, an AI firm. The firm previously told TMZ it blocked Ingalls from its platform in May 2024
One of the men allegedly posted to the fraternity’s active-members Snapchat group saying that there was ‘free p***y’ upstairs, referring to Doe, according to the filing
The Daily Mail previously revealed that Ingalls told friends in Dubai he planned to spend a gap year in Thailand to ‘find himself’ after leaving Cornell.
Ingalls, whose family has connections to the affluent Jumeirah district of Dubai, has denied the allegations against him.
His father, Matthew B Ingalls, is a Yale-educated academic who has taught courses covering Islamic law and Middle Eastern studies at several universities.
Another defendant, Jonathan Newell, 21, was also expelled following Cornell’s disciplinary proceedings, which involved more than 50 interviews.
Cornell shut down the Chi Phi chapter in 2024 and says other students were suspended following its investigation.
But the handling of the criminal allegations has proved equally controversial.
Jane Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, accused authorities of misleading his client about whether police were continuing to investigate her complaint.
Although the woman reported the alleged assault to Cornell police in November 2024, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten decided within days of receiving her initial substantial police interviews that criminal charges were not warranted.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, right, is now overseeing the criminal investigation after being appointed special prosecutor by New York Governor Kathy Hochul
The disturbing new details have emerged from Cornell University’s months-long Title IX investigation into the alleged October 2024 attack at the Chi Phi fraternity house, pictured
Cornell fraternity brothers allegedly shared a Snapchat photo of a student on the night she claims she was sexually assaulted
Van Houten has maintained that the evidence indicated the sexual activity was ‘voluntary, conscious and consensual.’
Giuffra strongly disputes that assessment.
‘I think she was misled. She was told it was still – they weren’t going to prosecute, but they were still investigating,’ he said.
‘I was involved with this case early on. I thought they were still investigating. It was news to me that they weren’t doing anything.’
He claimed crucial allegations were missing from the six-page police summary reviewed by prosecutors, including the woman’s insistence that she had been raped.
‘But nothing was being done, and we didn’t know that,’ Giuffra said.
A woman is pictured holding a sign supporting Jane Doe at the protest
Teachers, students and community members gathered at Cornell University on Monday to protest the school’s handling of a 2024 rape investigation
More than 20 student groups organized the Justice for Survivors rally
Students staged a sit-in protest at Cornell University last week on the Ithaca campus
The controversy eventually prompted New York Governor Kathy Hochul to remove Van Houten from the case and appoint state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor.
James has indicated that her investigation could take months.
Meanwhile, Cornell students have staged protests, including a dining hall sit-in and demonstrations demanding greater accountability for sexual misconduct.
The university’s trustees have also enlisted former US Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to conduct an independent review of its handling of sexual assault complaints, disciplinary proceedings and campus policing.