Critics have blamed fraternity culture for the alleged gang rape of a female student at Cornell University, but it turns out the school’s own health department distributed sex education materials promoting campus-wide discussions of group sex, fetish practices and drug-fueled encounters.
The prestigious Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York, circulated a six-page discussion advisory called “Yes, No, Maybe So: A Sexual Inventory Stocklist” that contains more than 200 entries of every sexual behavior and situation imaginable.
The document invited students to consider an eye-opening range of situations, including having multiple sex partners at once to engaging in sexual intimacy after consuming alcohol or recreational drugs, according to a pdf of the document obtained and linked in reports by news outlets.
The Cornell Health materials have added another barb in the growing outrage over the alleged alcohol and ketamine-fueled sexual assault of accuser “Jane Doe” at the university’s Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024.
“The documents were intended to encourage conversations about sexual preferences and boundaries, according to Cornell, but critics argue their explicit content sends a troubling message to impressionable students,” the Daily Mail reported.
The newspaper continued, “Those critics are now questioning whether the university’s approach to sexual education has blurred boundaries surrounding consent, although there is no evidence the materials played any role in the alleged assault.”
In the 2019 “stocklist” worksheet are explicit suggestions to consider, including “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 list also includes “Initiating or having sex while or after I have been drinking alcohol or other recreational drugs.”
Those categories are particularly striking in that the local district attorney’s office has reopened its investigation into the “Cornell 7,” a group of fraternity brothers that the student now accuses in a recent lawsuit of raping her while she was allegedly incapacitated.
Thousands of Cornell University students and others from the Cornell community fill Ho Plaza for the Justice for Survivors protest hosted by twenty student organizations Monday, October 5, 2026. (Matt Burkhartt/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Fraternity members dispute the alleged victim’s version of events, which Breitbart News and other outlets have reported has changed over time, according Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.
The materials that have surfaced reveal that the potential for unconventional sexual behavior was not exclusive to fraternity row but also was a subject for the entire campus population.
Another guide, called “Sensate Focus,” obtained by the New York Post, encouraged resident advisors advisors to display the educational materials on bulletin boards in student dormitories.
A 19-year-old Cornell senior named Jared Lederman was the first to highlight the inventory checklist on his Substack account. He accused the university of fostering 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.
Other critics cited the documents as “an example of woke policies run amok,” according to the New York tabloid.
“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,” Bethany Mandel, co-host of The Mom Wars podcast, told the Post.
The university has not responded to news outlet requests for comment on said materials.
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
