ITHACA, Oct. 16 -- Cornell's president told his own faculty on Wednesday night that fraternities may have to go for good, then spent about 45 minutes answering colleagues who say they no longer trust his administration to confront sexual assault.

President Michael Kotlikoff said at the start of the closed Faculty Senate meeting that he appreciated "the sentiment of a lot of faculty and a lot of leadership of the university that have said to me it's time for Greek life to go." If fraternities "cannot exist in a safe environment and we can't be convinced that they can be safe," he said, "then we should make that decision," but "based on data and study and expertise, not on emotion." A day earlier, the university had announced that Cornell ...