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Cornell 7 case puts a spotlight on fraternity misconduct – and the limits of universities’ power to stop it

Columns

Universities have been trying for years to cut back on the abuses among fraternities, with limited resources and limited success. A new lawsuit, filed by a former Cornell University student in September 2026, is now rattling higher education and drawing national attention. The person, identified as Jane Doe, has alleged that seven Chi Phi fraternity members drugged and gang-raped her at an on-campus fraternity house when she was a sophomore in 2024. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined to pursue criminal charges against the fraternity members in 2024. ...

Explaining the process of radioactive thyroid cancer treatment

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 74-year-old male who is in good health and works out. I recently had a thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer and had my entire thyroid removed. This month, I’m scheduled for a radioactive thyroid treatment. I understand this should cleanse any remaining cancer that was left around this area. I was told to drink plenty of fluids so that I can drain my bladder every 1.5 hours, so as not to damage my bladder. My question is: How is this affecting the rest of my body? If it can negatively affect my bladder, what about my organs and, in particular, my heart and stomach? ...

Dear Annie: More his roommate than his wife

Columns

Dear Readers: After my column in response to “Worried Daughter,” who was concerned that her widowed mother was becoming increasingly isolated and dependent two years after her husband’s death, readers wrote with thoughtful suggestions. Thank you to all, but especially to two readers for sharing your personal and professional experiences with the same situation. Dear Annie: As a retired LCSW who spent the last 30 years of my practice focusing on grief and loss, I’d like to offer another perspective. This mother may need her daughter’s support in finding a grief counselor. ...

Cutting off a parent can be self-preservation, not cruelty

Columns

An in-law, age 95 and on her deathbed, was having some final conversations. She brought up a memory of her own mother, who had lost a 2-year-old daughter to a childhood disease. When she misbehaved as a child, the elderly woman recalled, “My mother would say, ‘I wish you had died instead of Alice.’” She then tried to reason that her mother, enduring a hard life on an Indiana farm, was probably just expressing grief. Possibly true, but the hurt haunted the surviving daughter until her last breath, nearly a century after the words were spoken. A trend has grown in recent years of ...

Shaving advertising can take unusual forms

Columns

Baby New Year can grow up fast! The baby pictured here is already shaving. Well, it’s probably not supposed to be Baby New Year, but being surrounded by a calendar, it’s an easy association to make. This baby was the mascot for Gillette’s safety razors, perhaps suggesting that they were ...

Dear Annie: Old friend’s insult is no joke

Columns

Dear Annie: I walked away from a 50-plus-year friendship. I’ve known “Ralph,” his wife and his kids since the late-1970s. We both worked construction. We never had a deep friendship; most men from the boomer generation don’t. Ralph has a sense of humor that others would say is off-putting, including uncomfortable joking, but we went through similar circumstances at different times. A group of three to five of us construction guys used to meet for lunch on Saturdays. One Saturday, during the usual discussions of yesteryear, I finished sharing my thoughts and looked over to ...