Sexual Misconduct Takes Center Stage in The Burn List
Julie Cruse chronicles almost unimaginable abuse from multiple people and institutions
The Burn List: A Memoir of Abuse from Home to Higher Education, Julie Cruse, Atmosphere Press, 2026, 328 pages, $32.99 hardcover, $19.99 paperback, $9.99 Kindle.
The physical and psychological abuse and parental neglect that Julie Cruse endured in her childhood home was absolutely horrific, but like many academically-inclined kids, at an early age she discovered that if she excelled in school, there might be an escape route: A college scholarship. This proved true. But Cruse reports that college offered no respite. Despite continued scholastic success, she was the frequent target of sexual harassment at on-and-off campus jobs. In addition, at least one male professor with a history of pursuing young, emotionally needy, working class women hit on her in and outside of class, while others pilfered her work and claimed it as their own. Moreover, this pattern was repeated at numerous institutions – Kent and Ohio state universities and the University of Washington-Seattle as well as the fictitiously named Oxridge and American Southwest University – that she attended and where she later worked. Despite repeated complaints to Human Resources personnel, Cruse reports that very little was done to curb bad behavior, and more often than not, her aggressive objections to the harassment she experienced made her persona non grata among her peers and colleagues.
Over time, the lack of support impacted her physical and emotional health and she ultimately left academia. One can only hope that she has found security and safety in the corporate positions she’s taken.
Cruse uses pseudonyms for the professors and colleagues who have wronged her, nonetheless it is unclear why some schools are named and others are not. An appendix of resources, however, including a roster of college and university faculty members and coaches who have been accused [and sometimes arrested, tried, and convicted] of misconduct, makes clear that the experiences of sexual harassment, stalking, and sexual assault that Cruse recounts are far from anomalous.
Even more disheartening is the overall context of sexual misconduct. As the Epstein files have shown, U.S. society has a long way to go in making this harmful behavior unacceptable and in forcing accountability or contrition from perpetrators.
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For more information, go to academicabuse.com, a website Cruse developed to track what is happening on campuses throughout the country.