In a recent episode of the Literary Hub podcast, sociologist Nicole Bedera sat down with co‑hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the Cornell 7, a case in which a student alleged she was gang‑raped at a fraternity party at Cornell University. Bedera described the incident as part of a long tradition of universities mishandling sexual‑violence reports.
Bedera explained that Title IX, enacted in 1972, prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions. She traced how sexual violence came to be understood as a form of sex discrimination, citing the 1980 court case Alexander v. Yale, which recognized that such violence interfered with women’s educational experiences. Bedera noted that Title IX’s effectiveness has fluctuated, especially during the Trump administration, when regulations were shifted to make it easier for universities to avoid accountability.
She argued that universities often benefit from improper handling of sexual‑violence cases, and administrators tend to describe incidents as isolated rather than systemic. Bedera also addressed common misconceptions about Title IX investigations, drawing on her experience as a victim advocate and her fieldwork at an anonymised Title IX office.
During the interview, Bedera read excerpts from her book, On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence, and discussed the possibility of reimagining Title IX as a state agency to increase effectiveness.