Cornell fraternity put on probation after reports of engaging in sexual competition

Cornell University has placed a fraternity on probation for two years following its investigation into a sex competition that members were engaged in, according to The Cornell Daily Sun.

Cornell’s Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was revealed to have organized what members were calling a “pig roast,” a points-based system that rewarded new fraternity members for having as much sexual intercourse with women as possible. 

In the event that two members were tied at the end of the competition, it reportedly came down to the weights of the women they slept with: whichever member had had sex with the heaviest woman won. According to a statement by the university, “new members were told not to inform the women of the contest.”

School officials launched the investigation into the fraternity in 2017 after receiving multiple reports about the contest.

The chapter now faces probationary recognition from Cornell and external review by the national ZBT organization. The university will also require that the members participate in bystander and sexual violence education programs, and that the chapter hires a live-in advisor for the rest of its probation.

On Saturday, the chapter responded to the reports of misconduct in a Facebook post.

“The events detailed in The Sun were neither chapter sanctioned activities, nor ones that brothers were aware of,” the statement read. “The allegations described are contrary to the values that Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity espouses and works in direct conflict with the beliefs and mission of the Kappa chapter.”

Fraternity life has been under renewed examination nationwide following a series of recent fraternity-related deaths, hazing incidents, and reports of sexual misconduct. Many notable schools, including the University of Michigan and Penn State University, have handed down sanctions on fraternity life in response.