Bill Maher used his Friday edition of HBO’s “Real Time” to call for the abolition of fraternities and sororities, weaving the issue into his monologue about recent sexual‑assault allegations tied to his alma mater, Cornell University.
He highlighted the “Cornell 7” case, a Jane Doe lawsuit that claims an assault took place at Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter. During his weekly “New Rule” segment, Maher slammed Greek organizations as breeding grounds for abuse, hazing and exclusion on college campuses, and made it clear he harbors little affection for his former school.
“What I do know is this alleged gang rape at the Cornell Chi Phi frat house is deeply disturbing, but since it’s my alma mater, where I walked those hallowed halls for four years with so many memories, I don’t want to let my personal feelings get in the way, because they’re all bad,” Maher said. “Cornell sucks and I f**king hated it and I’m glad to see them eating a sh*t sandwich. It’s true.”
Maher argued that Greek life fuels dangerous group dynamics among male students, pointing to fraternity traditions, peer pressure, heavy drinking and documented hazing deaths as compelling reasons for colleges to dismantle the system entirely.
“Now, in fairness, Cornell did give me a very good education, the kind they don’t do anymore,” he added. “And also, this sh*t could have happened anywhere there are fraternities, because it happens everywhere there are fraternities. Any place that’s all male, no girls allowed, just doesn’t function without depravity. Ask the Catholic Church. Ask the Taliban. Human nature is bad, and the best we can do is create institutions that don’t make it so easy to be worse, and a great place to start would be getting rid of Greek life.”
Discussing the specifics of the Cornell lawsuit, Maher noted reports that the woman was intoxicated and had taken ketamine before the incident. While acknowledging that the facts remain under legal scrutiny, he challenged the fraternity’s purported code of conduct.
“Fraternity mission statements love to use the word gentleman,” Maher said. “A gentleman is someone who in that situation doesn’t exploit the woman. He saves her.”
He broadened his critique beyond fraternities, asserting that sororities also nurture toxic social dynamics among female students and questioning whether exclusive Greek housing has a place on contemporary university campuses.
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