Due to the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as a US Supreme Court justice, students at Columbia University and Barnard College believe it will now be much harder for female students to report instances of sexual assault.
As reported by the Columbia Spectator, the theme of Ivy League students thumbing their noses at due process — and even the basic facts of the Kavanaugh matter — rolls on.
For example, freshman Julia Guo said Kavanaugh “used the excuse” that he was drunk at a party to explain away his transgressions. She does not say “alleged” nor note that Kavanaugh had completely denied all of the sexual assault allegations made against him.
Junior Connie Raptis was even more amaurotic:
“[After Trump’s election] I should not be surprised that someone who has committed sexual assault and has had so many women come out and speak against him [would] be appointed such prominent position of power. It’s really disheartening to see how far politics has fallen since then.”
A recent study published by Columbia researches showed that, while students understand the legal definition of consent, many still grapple with how to apply that knowledge in real-world situations, particularly those involving alcohol. Because of the magnitude of and national attention given to Kavanaugh’s case, it has begun to permeate campus conversations surrounding issues of consent and sexual assault.
“Even though statistics show that one in three women at Columbia will experience sexual assault… it kind of feels a little bit foreign to us,” Peter Gado, CC ’22, said. “Now, because this is such a high profile story that everyone knows about, it might bring up discussions more because it is fresh in people’s mind and maybe they’ll start noticing more in their lives and start thinking about it more.” …
Students also pointed to the fact that Kavanaugh was nominated despite an outpouring of support for Dr. Ford, which may discourage survivors from reporting incidents of sexual assault, especially on high school and college campuses.
“Even if a woman comes forward with testimony… It is not necessarily true that there will be consequences. … Students might think twice about reporting,” Alexon Francisco Grochowski, a first-year in the School of International and Public Affairs said.
Others mocked President Trump’s notion that it is a “very scary” time to be a male in America as any accusation of sexual impropriety could ruin one’s life.
“[I]t’s only scary if you’ve actually sexually assaulted someone because then you have something to fear,” freshman Gabriel Gonzalez said.
Is that so? Perhaps Mr. Gonzalez has never heard of the Duke lacrosse team or the “Jackie” Rolling Stone fiasco. Or, more recently, this website. Or what this person did. Or the antics of this woman.
Et cetera.
MORE: DeVos revises how campuses adjudicate sexual assault claims
MORE: Campuses not equipped to adjudicate sexual assault, misconduct
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