WASHINGTON (DC)
Georgetown Voice [Washington, DC]
October 17, 2026
By Jacob Gardner
Content warning: this article discusses sexual assault
On October 15, Georgetown’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program (WGST) hosted a “Sexual Assault on College Campuses” panel in response to the recent surge of national media coverage surrounding high-profile sexual violence cases across higher education.
The panel featured a multidisciplinary roster of Georgetown faculty, including Samantha Berner, Title IX Coordinator; Dr. Nadia Brown, Director of WGST; Professor Chiara Cooper; Professor Tricia Hoefling; Professor Sara Pavia; and Jen Luettel Schweer, Licensed Professional Counselor.
The event arrived amidst national conversations regarding a recently reopened sexual assault case at Cornell University, which has reignited discussions around Title IX procedures, fraternity culture, and institutional accountability at college campuses across the country.
According to Brown, the event was born out of a convergence of student initiative and administrative collaboration.
“This event really grew out of a combination of student interest and a desire among faculty and university colleagues to respond to what was happening in the news,” Brown wrote to the Voice. She said interest from Professor Hoefling’s class coincided with existing plans to address widely publicized national cases like the one at Cornell.
Brown emphasized that addressing these complex campus issues directly aligns with the core mission of the WGST department.
“We want to be responsive to the questions our students are asking and to the issues unfolding around us,” Brown wrote. “Conversations about sexual assault can be uncomfortable, but that discomfort shouldn’t prevent us from having them. In fact, it’s often a sign that we’re engaging with something important.”
Hoefling echoed this sentiment. She highlighted that beyond academic framing, a primary goal of the panel was ensuring students are aware of campus support networks, like Georgetown’s Sexual Assault Response and Prevention (SARP) team. SARP, directed by Schweer, provides counseling and advocacy services for students navigating sexual assault or relationship violence.
“Counselors at SARP can provide confidential advice to not only survivors, but bystanders to sexual violence,” Hoefling said. “We need to change the culture so all students feel empowered to speak out when they witness or experience sexual assault.”
During the event, Berner took time to walk students through the Title IX reporting process and the various resolutions available to survivors, ranging from supportive measures and accommodations to formal investigations.
Hoefling, who teaches a recurring course on Gender and the Law, pointed out that high-profile cases frequently catalyze broader statutory reform. She pointed to potential upcoming changes in state law, such as New York reevaluating its “voluntary intoxication loophole,” which would allow prosecutors to place charges when a victim was heavily impaired regardless of whether the substances were taken voluntarily.
“In our classes…we think about how law leads society, and how societal change can lead to changes in the law,” Hoefling said.
She added that while shifting federal guidance across presidential administrations often creates confusion around Title IX enforcement, the core mandate remains simple: universities must guarantee equal educational access, which is undermined by a culture of sexual harassment or violence.
“Preventing sexual violence isn’t just the responsibility of survivors, advocates, or university administrators… it’s a collective responsibility,” Brown said.
Ultimately, panel organizers expressed hope that the event serves as a launching pad for ongoing dialogue rather than an isolated, one-time conversation.
“I hope events like this remind our campus community that these conversations shouldn’t end when the event is over,” Brown said. “They should continue in our classrooms, in our research, and in the everyday ways we care for and support one another.”
Jacob Gardner
Jacob is a sophomore in the College. He has not yet become a popstar, but is working on it in between shifts at the revive-Karl-Marx factory.