Lin Farley, a former instructor at Cornell University, shared her thoughts on recent allegations involving the institution with Newsweek. Farley is credited with popularizing the term “sexual harassment” in the 1970s and expressed little surprise about the incidents at Cornell. She first used the term in April 1975 during a hearing on women in the workplace conducted by the New York City Human Rights Commission. Reflecting on the past five decades, Farley believes not much has changed regarding the issue she helped bring to light.
“It was a fact of life at Cornell,” Farley, 84, noted. “I wasn’t surprised when I read that. Nobody was surprised.” She described Cornell as a “big fraternity university” in the context of recent allegations by a woman who accused fraternity members of gang rape in November 2024. The woman reported the assault to campus police and discussed the incident with university investigators as part of the disciplinary proceedings. Although the investigation was closed without charges, the alleged victim recently filed a lawsuit against seven fraternity members, claiming she was given alcohol and sexually assaulted while incapacitated.
Farley criticized the university’s response, stating, “If you understand what the fraternities do, Cornell supports that 100 percent.” She echoed the sentiment of New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who appointed a special prosecutor to examine the case, expressing her belief that the accuser was let down by police and prosecutors. “Cornell basically just doesn’t do anything,” Farley added. “When I was there, everybody agreed with me, understood — Cornell was just a joke. They don’t do anything except support the fraternities.”
During her tenure at Cornell from 1974 to 1976, Farley warned female students to be cautious. “If you’re a Cornell co-ed, good luck,” she advised. Farley authored “Sexual Shakedown: The Sexual Harassment of Women on the Job” in 1978, and she feels little progress has been made since then. “No, I was surprised that it came out,” she remarked about the allegations, which were elaborated on in a lawsuit. “Cornell is like an embarrassment; it’s not even a decent university.”
Farley expressed disappointment over the repetitive nature of such stories, saying, “The sad thing is, we keep doing these stories over and over, and then we go right back to it. Nothing has changed. And nothing’s going to change.” While she held back from addressing Cornell officials directly, Farley praised Governor Hochul for appointing Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor for the case. “I have faith in the governor,” she stated. “I think she’s a decent person, wants to do the right thing. She’ll come through.”