Overview
- The change appeared in Cornell’s updated Community Living Standards for the 2026–27 year and bars any processing of wild or game animals in shared residence-hall kitchens.
- The policy follows a September 2025 episode in which two students legally killed a black bear and skinned and butchered it in a communal kitchen, an act that closed the kitchen for cleaning and produced graphic images online.
- Cornell’s spokesperson framed the update as a clarification of acceptable communal-kitchen behavior and said students may still hunt legally while living on campus.
- The university told reporters there will be no campus processing and that students should use nearby certified vendors to clean and butcher game to address sanitation and safety concerns.
- Local outlets noted the incident raised questions about whether the bear was a cub and highlighted how the rule aims to prevent future sanitary problems and roommate conflicts in shared living spaces.