SAM NELSON
POLITICS
In the summer of 1982, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford alleged that Justice Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her at a house party.
In 2018, Dr. Ford wrote to her Senator, Diane Feinstein, about this incident in a letter she hoped to keep private. Senator Feinstein gave the letter to the FBI, and at the same time, news leaked that there are sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh. Upon news of several allegations against Kavanaugh, the Senate held a hearing to determine the fate of his nomination. During the hearing, the Senate heard testimony from Dr. Ford.
Ultimately, Kavanaugh was made a Supreme Court Justice with a vote of 50 to 48 on October 6th, 2018.
Our political atmosphere is already tense. An alleged sexual assaulter on the court further validates so much anger. I was curious as to what our peers thought of the nomination process, and what they plan on doing in light of it.
“Honestly, I’m not happy about it. I feel it’s an injustice to women and it shows that America doesn’t care about bringing this stuff to justice,” said Matt Nagy (’19).
Other students seem to share this sentiment.
“It truly was scary because now they just tilted the entire Supreme Court. It’s a shame what’s going on right now that even though women are coming out, their voices still aren’t being heard,” said Karina Ankrom (’19).
Ankrom found out about the nomination within moments of it being released, and was with junior Eryn Corinth (‘20) at the time.
“I freaked out when we found out,” said Corinth.
I polled several students about this issue in Joe’s Place, and of the eight people I polled, there were six that hadn’t even heard about Kavanaugh or the significance of his nomination, and now confirmation, to the Supreme Court.
At this point in history, it is more important than ever to be aware of what our government is doing, given that this confirmation of Kavanaugh into the Supreme Court may jeopardize basic rights regarding abortion, LGBT rights, and religion.
As of right now, the Supreme Court is weighted in favor of the Republican Party, with five justices appointed by Republican presidents and four appointed by Democratic presidents.
“I stand before you today on the heels of a tremendous victory for our nation, our people and our beloved Constitution,” said Trump on Saturday.
Kavanaugh is the second Justice that Trump has appointed to the Supreme Court, along with Neil Gorsuch.
