Brigham Young University is mentioned in The Bob Zadek Show only in a single episode, a December 2018 conversation with R. Shep Melnick about Title IX. The university enters the discussion as an illustration of institutional discretion over student conduct, and it is not the subject of any extended treatment in the excerpts.
Institutional conduct rules
In the episode, Melnick draws a distinction between what schools might want to do and what they should be federally mandated to do. He argues that it is reasonable for an educational institution to set standards for its students and to educate them about acceptable activity. As an example, he says that if Brigham Young University says no sex outside of marriage and enforces that, that is the school’s choice. He contrasts this with his own university, Boston College, which he says has a rule against sex outside of marriage on campus but never enforces it. The broader question Melnick raises is whether norms of conduct should be federally mandated the same for all universities or whether schools should have discretion in interpreting what is acceptable behavior. He characterizes the Obama administration’s effort to establish detailed rules on acceptable behavior as a serious overreach. Title IX’s Transformation: R. Shep Melnick on the New Civil Rights Debate (2018)
Bob Zadek responds by noting that he believes in academic freedom and that the strength of American higher education is its diversity. He argues that letting universities establish a variety of standards creates a vibrant market for choosing universities. Zadek then says that the market will dictate: if parents like the Brigham Young BYU model, so be it, and if they like the Oberlin College model, so be it. He predicts that both will probably survive because the market is quite huge. Melnick replies that he is not sure Oberlin will survive, but that he is sure BYU will. Zadek agrees that BYU for sure will survive. Title IX’s Transformation: R. Shep Melnick on the New Civil Rights Debate (2018)
Context: the “Dear Colleague” letter
The BYU example arises within a longer discussion of the “Dear Colleague” letter, which Zadek calls a statute disguised as an interoffice communication. Melnick explains that one form of rulemaking authorized by statute is to issue a rule under the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires a proposal, public comment, an explanation, and judicial review. He says the Office for Civil Rights has mostly not used that process, instead issuing a unilateral letter to colleges, universities, and primary and secondary schools that receive federal funds, stating how it interprets the statute and what recipients are required to do. Melnick describes these letters as considered legally binding by the Office for Civil Rights, subjecting noncompliant schools to enforcement action, and notes that courts have frequently deferred to them. He calls the practice an evasion of the Administrative Procedure Act. Title IX’s Transformation: R. Shep Melnick on the New Civil Rights Debate (2018)
Zadek characterizes the letter as carrying an implied threat, comparing it to a gun in an alleyway and saying it amounts to a “your money or your life” letter. He adds that the author of the letter has no statutory authority to share an interpretation at variance with the statute itself. Title IX’s Transformation: R. Shep Melnick on the New Civil Rights Debate (2018)
Across episodes
Only one episode in the excerpts, the December 2018 discussion with R. Shep Melnick, touches on Brigham Young University; the excerpts show no development of the topic across episodes.
What the sources do not cover
The excerpts do not describe Brigham Young University’s founding, location, governance, enrollment, or academic programs, and they do not state whether the conduct rule Melnick attributes to it is written policy or how it is enforced. They do not say whether BYU was involved in any Title IX proceeding or “Dear Colleague” enforcement action. The episode ends mid-discussion of gender identity and “sex,” and the excerpts contain no conclusion to that segment.