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Cornell University Bans Processing of Wild Game in Dorm Kitchens Following Black Bear Incident
Just the facts
The policy revision follows a 2025 event where undergraduate student Aaron Chin and a fellow student brought a legally harvested black bear carcass into Ganędagǫ Hall in Ithaca, New York, for butchering. Although an inspector from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation determined that no state health codes or game regulations were violated during the preparation, campus administrators added a specific ban to the residential code to address health and safety concerns. The updated policy strictly forbids the processing, skinning, or preparation of wild game animals across all undergraduate community kitchen facilities.
Why this is news
Cornell University officially updated its campus living standards to prohibit students from processing wild game inside university residence hall kitchens. University representatives confirmed that the regulatory change was enacted in direct response to a viral 2025 incident in which students butchered a black bear on campus.
Sources
This summary is compiled strictly from the original reporting below.