Overview
- Cornell updated its 2026–27 undergraduate community living standards in August 2026 to explicitly prohibit processing wild or game animals in residential community kitchens.
- In September 2025 two licensed Cornell students skinned and butchered a legally hunted black bear in the communal kitchen at Ganędagǫ Hall and a circulated photo prompted a complaint and police report.
- New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation found the kill lawful, local police declined to file charges, and the university determined the students did not violate the student conduct code.
- The policy change tells students who hunt off campus to use nearby certified meat processors and frames the ban as a clarity and sanitation measure to prevent roommate and shared-space conflicts.
- University officials say this is the only known campus processing incident that prompted the rule and the update could affect how residential life and campus services handle food-safety complaints going forward.