The Word

Henry Kissinger’s NYU visit met by protests

 

NYU student lead protest against Henry Kissinger’s speech at the Stern School of Business at Gould Plaza. Photo By Sarah Patt

A crowd of over 200 filled NYU’s Gould Plaza  yesterday, to protest the university’s decision to host former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the Stern School of Business.

Students and activists screamed chants of “War and occupation will never bring liberation,” and “Hey, Kissinger, what do you say? How many kids have you killed today?” while holding signs that called out Kissinger’s legacy and US intervention in foreign countries.

Kissinger was Secretary of State during the Nixon and Ford administrations in the mid to late 70s. He is known for his controversial foreign policy initiatives, including US military intervention is Latin America and South East Asia. Most notably, Kissinger was integral to the decision to bomb Cambodia.

“Henry Kissinger is like the [original] war criminal,” said Tory Smith, the national campaigner for anti-war activist group the War Resisters League who took part in the protest. “[His legacy] still continues to have an effect, like there’s still unexploded bombs that are in Cambodia and kill people occasionally, from the saturated bombing of that country. I feel like if you do that to a country you do deserve to be followed around for the rest of your life by people telling you you’re a [bad person].”

Smith was joined by Yoni Chang, a field organizer for the War Resisters League.

“The fact that [Kissinger’s] still being invited to gigs, and he’s still being invited you know as somebody whose perspective is meaningful or valuable for the direction we want society to go in, that’s ridiculous,” said Chang.

Kissinger was asked to speak at Stern as a part of the school’s “In Conversation with Mervyn King” series. The series, which started in 2016, invites influential figures in economics and politics to engage in conversation with Stern Professor Lord Mervyn King.

 

Sign reading “Supreme Injustice Must End” held by protestor in Gould Plaza.Photo by Sarah Patt

Twenty-seven activist groups signed a public statement asking NYU to cancel the event.

“We had no expectation of [NYU cancelling],” said Aeslyn Valhos, an NYU junior involved in organizing the protest. “He’s a very well-known person who’s been involved with the government. It was just to let them know that we weren’t happy about it.”

Protestors were invited to speak to the crowd to on behalf of an organization or themselves about the effects of Kissinger’s policies.

“I speak today as a Southeast Asian woman, and a daughter of a refugee family,” said Areerat Worawongwasu, an NYU student activist from the Asian American Political Activism Coalition. “Kissinger personally planned and presided over the dropping of 500,000 explosives over Cambodia, and 2.5 million tons of explosives on Lao, killing at least 10,000 civilians. To this very day, the genocide is hurting us.”

Worawongwasu called upon NYU to listen to its students.

“While NYU continue to market itself as a global network university and perpetuate the rhetoric of neoliberal multiculturalism, we demand accountability in regards to inviting war mongers such as Kissinger onto campus valuing the so-called marketplace of ideas over the lives imperialists such as him have destroyed.” said Worawongwasu.

NYU Tisch Freshman Simon Cadel spoke to the crowd about Kissinger’s statements regarding the Jewish community.

“When discussing the Soviet Union, he said, ‘if they put Jews in gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern.’” said Cadel. “He also said ‘if it were not for the accident of my birth, I would be anti-Semitic.’ However, being the pragmatic that he is, he managed to find a way.”

Cadel recalled that Kissinger’s only positive acknowledgement of his Jewish identity occurred in his defense of Israel.

Other students spoke about upheaval in Chile, Ecuador, and Yemen.

While the majority of the speakers were students, the crowd varied in age. Mark Woodcock was involved in the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War era.

“It’s important to keep protesting, especially in this era,” said Woodcock. “It’s really important that everybody get involved.”

Woodcock attended the protest with his sister Elspeth Woodcock-Macdonald and her husband, whom he noted were “lot more active than I am.”

“It’s ten times worse [now] than it was,” said Woodcock-Macdonald. “Back then we could count on some kind of standard of law, and now this ridiculous agent orange, or our supreme leader, is just unspeakable. It’s practically a part-time job, demonstrating.”

 

Protestor Nick MacDonald holds a sign depicting Kissinger above the words “WAR CRIMINAL” at Gould Plaza. Photo by Sarah Patt

While protests occurred outside the Stern School building, other students disrupted Kissinger’s speech from the inside. NYU sophomore Clayton Farris attended Kissinger’s lecture, in which he and other students stood up at integrals throughout the hour to address Kissinger face to face.

“Basically, we’re just making the event just a living hell for Kissinger and everyone in there who’s supporting him for whatever reason,” said Farris. “It was crazy. My adrenaline’s going right now.”

Farris and other students were thrown out of the auditorium by security after making comments about Kissinger’s past.

NYU Stern released a statement following the protests, referencing NYU’s commitment to “the free exchange of diverse ideas and viewpoints,” while also acknowledging the “the importance of dissent.”

Protesters stayed for the duration of the speech. A few braved the cold to stay until Kissinger left the building. Shouting followed Kissinger’s car as he drove away.

 

Nancy Pelosi talks women and politics at NYU

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi addresses NYU students and community members at the Skirball Center on Monday. She spoke about the presence of women in politics, particularly young women. Photo by Sam Klein

Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority leader and a focal point of much Republican wrath, spoke at NYU Monday on the role of women in politics, just a few weeks away from the pivotal midterm elections .

About 250 NYU students and community members attended a Q & A with Marianne Schnall, author of “What Will it Take to Make a Woman President?”

They spoke about the increased presence of women at all political levels and Pelosi’s personal experiences.

“You have to have diversity at the table,” Pelosi said during the appearance. “It is essential.”

A record 256 women won Congressional primaries this fall, of which a majority are Democrats. Currently, less than 20 percent of Congress members are women, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Pelosi was the first female Speaker of the House. She recalled a meeting early in her political career with former president George W. Bush and other prominent political figures.

“I remember thinking, ‘it’s not like any other meeting that any other women in history have been to,’” Pelosi said. “Finally we have a seat at the table – and we want more.”

Pelosi said that she wants women to be involved in politics starting at younger ages, because that will give them the opportunity to occupy leadership positions earlier and increase their influence.

Kristen Gonzalez, a 2018 Columbia University alumna, attended the talk. She is a Queens native who works for a nonprofit called Ignite that empowers women to run for public office. Gonzalez said that she plans to run for City Council in 2021.

“I thought it was really incredible hearing someone who has trail blazed,” Gonzalez said. “She doesn’t do many of these. I think that’s important to note. I think she’s making a conscious effort to get into spaces like this, with a younger crowd, to give us really good advice. And we appreciate that.”

After Pelosi left the stage, there was a panel discussion with four other women involved in politics, including Alessandra Biaggi, the Democratic candidate for State Senate in New York’s 34th District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Westchester.

Gonzalez said that Pelosi’s talk and the panel discussion resonated with her personally.

“You’re going to hear a lot of people tell you no, and you don’t hear enough women say that you are ready, that you are competent,” Gonzalez said. “Our experiences as women, or women of color, women from marginalized backgrounds, those experiences prepare us and give us a perspective that is so valuable in positions of leadership. I think it was really inspiring seeing those women on the stage acknowledge that.”

Many of Pelosi’s remarks were words of advice for young women, specifically those planning to be involved in politics. She emphasized the importance of knowing arguments inside out, focusing on the future and being loud enough – particularly in the wake of Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court.

“You can’t get down on what’s happening,” Pelosi said. “That’s just a victory for the other side.”

Near the end, she offered one particularly direct piece of advice.

“Be confident,” Pelosi said. “The world is waiting for you. Be ready.”

Gonzalez, for one, is ready.

“I think it’s time for our generation to take the wheel,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve come a long way, but definitely not far enough.”

 

Many handicapped New Yorkers struggle to find accessible rides

By AEMoreira042281 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons

The New York City Council held a hearing yesterday to discuss the difficulty many handicapped New Yorkers face getting around the city.

“There are over 100,00 for hire vehicles in the city,” said Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr., the moderator of the hearing. “But barely any are wheelchair accessible.”

The difficulties of getting around the city has made everyday a struggle for disabled New Yorkers.

“I woke up at 5:30 just to come to this [10:00 A.M.] meeting,” wheelchair user Robert Acevedo said. “And I live in Manhattan.”

For many, the problem of accessible transportation is larger than just getting from Point A to Point B.

“It’s definitely a civil rights issue,” said President of Disabled In Action of Metropolitan New York, Jean Ryan. “It’s like excluding all black people, or all women, or all Jews, or all anybody from certain form of transportation. That’s not allowed and it’s not allowed to exclude us either. I can’t take a regular vehicle, but everyone else can take an accessible one. So if they were all accessible everyone would have an equal chance to get a vehicle.”  

First to testify was the Deputy Commissioner of the Taxi Limousine Commission, Jennifer Tavis. The TLC regulates all taxi, chauffeur, and for-hire app based transportation in the city.

“The TLC’s mission is to ensure that all New Yorkers receive safe, reliable, and accessible for hire service,” Tavis said. “Accessible transportation means that New Yorkers and visitors to the city that have disabilities can participate in the life of the city including access to health, education, culture, and family.”

Tavis was quick to point out the progress of accessibility that has been made in recent years.

“In 2014, TLC changed the landscape of taxi service to people with disabilities by requiring a percentage of each fleet to be wheelchair accessible,” Tavis said. “Today, almost 2,500 yellow taxis are wheelchair accessible and available to customers, a ten fold increase since 2014.”

Despite the progress in accessibility, there is still not nearly enough transportation options for the city’s handicapped, especially in the boroughs.

“You are in the boroughs. We are in the boroughs. Why are you ignoring a market of at least 100,000 and rising customers?”  Ryan asked to the TLC representatives at the hearing.

Even with the services provided, such as the MTA’s Access-A-Ride program, the needs of New York’s handicapped community are not being met.

“Everyone hates them,” said Michael Ring, a member of the Disabled In Action group about Access-A-Ride. “Everyone hates them, the drivers hate them, the people that work there hate them.”

New programs, such as Curb, which is an app that can order wheelchair accessible cabs, rarely work. Even with for hire vehicles, like Uber, accessibility is still a big problem for the disabled.

“In terms of accessibility, the for hire vehicle sector, which are the app based companies in particular, have not taken the steps they are really obliged to under the Americans With Disabilities Act to provide equivalent service,” Tavis said.

The problem of for hire accessibility is just another on a list of issues plaguing the industry on top of recent cab driver suicides and increased traffic congestion.

 

Postal workers protest government’s push towards privatization

Postal workers and union members protest the White House’s push towards privatization of the U.S. Postal service outside of Rep. Grace Meng’s office in Flushing, Queens. Photo by Lachlan Hyatt

Postal workers unleashed their outrage at the White House’s push towards privatization of the U.S. Postal Service during a protest in Flushing, Queens, yesterday

“U.S. mail is not for sale,” dozens of postal workers at the protest chanted. “Whose post office? The peoples’ post office.”

In May, President Donald Trump created a taskforce to evaluate the USPS’s operations and explore the possibility of privatizing the agency.

“The taskforce was supposed report back August 10,” said Tony Paolillo, 59, of Flushing, Queens and the President of the National Association of Letter Carriers. “But back in July or late June, President Trump started mentioning how the Postal Service should be privatized. They already seem to have a foregone conclusion that the company needs to be dismantled.”

He fears the consequences of the USPS falling out of government control.

“Privatizing the U.S. Postal Service Would be absolutely disastrous,” Paolillo said. “We deliver to 157 million delivery points. With privatizing, the priority would be strictly on those areas that are profitable. All the other areas would see a drastic reduction in service. Rates will go through the roof.”

Congresswoman Grace Meng, a Queens Democrat who helped organize the protest outside of her office, said this is a bipartisan effort.

“There are many Republicans who are supporting our efforts and we’re working jointly,” Meng said. “They recognize the damage this would do in their districts as well.”

The government response so far has been the bipartisan drafting of House Resolution 993. The resolution, submitted on July 16, explains how the House of Representatives should take measures to ensure the USPS is not lost.

“The United States Postal Service is a constitutionally mandated service,” the resolution reads. “The United States Postal Service is consistently the highest-rated agency of the Federal Government in non-partisan opinion polls; whereas the United States Postal Service is the Nation’s second-largest employer of military veterans.”

For Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, the issue of USPS privatization was about “the ideals of this country.”

“We in this country are not going to give the wealthy everything at the expense of everyone else,” Weingarten said. “That is what this privatization measure is about, undermining the post office, a civic virtue in this country and giving it to the highest bidder.”

Lillian Pascal, President of the American Postal Workers Union in Flushing, was concerned about what privatization would mean for postal workers.

“Across the nation we have thousands of employees,” Pascal said. “They’re earning great wages. How are you going to privatize this entity? What are we going to do with our employees?”

One of the strongest arguments behind privatizing the USPS is that the agency has been consistently losing revenue each year, according to a report. But there is a good explanation for this, said George Mangold, President of the New York State Association of Letter Carriers.

“We don’t get a penny of taxpayer money,” Mangold said. “The only reason you here about red ink in a post office is the 2006 Postal Enhancement Act.”

The Act mandated the pre-funding of postal worker benefits up to 75 years.

“That cost us $5.8 billion every year,” Mangold said. “That’s the red ink you hear about. Otherwise, we’d be making money.”

Students find emotional support through memes

NYU meme Facebook page spreads hope to and support to students.,

At New York University, students cope with tragedy and ongoing stress through a unique source – memes.

Following the harrowing news of a student suicide on Tuesday, Oct. 2, the student administrators of NYU’s meme page decided to spread messages of hope and awareness to the 11,500 and counting, members of the Facebook group.

What if we let people know that there’s networks of support that they can access here?” said Sebastian Paine, a sophomore NYU student. “Whether it’s the wellness center, or their friends, or the admins on the f—ing meme page.”

Paine, a double major in GLS and Public Policy, is one of a handful of administrators  of NYU Memes for Slightly Bankrupt Teens, a Facebook page dedicated to memes. Memes are  defined as images, text, and videos that are generally humorous and spread throughout the internet with various modifications

While internet memes are usually a fairly inane topic, the motivation behind Wholesome Wednesday was solemn and sincere. Paine referenced the painful news of a NYU student’s suicide as the primary reason. The lack of immediate response from NYU authorities concerned him, so they decided to preemptively spread awareness and positivity in the wake of the tragic news.

“It actually started because someone made an insensitive meme about the suicide,” Paine said. “We were like, this is unacceptable.”

The admins discussed the issue and decided to turn a thoughtless action into an opportunity for connection within the NYU community. A complete rebranding was done. The title of the page was changed to NYU Memes for Wholesome Teens, “Wholesome Wednesday” news was spread, and only “wholesome” posts were approved.

But going further than just feel-good images, they decided to spread awareness and provide important contact information for the mental health services offered at NYU.

“I expressed that I wanted to address this issue along the lines of reaching out for help,” wrote admin and NYU student, Arystan Tatishev, via email.

Several posts and memes included phone numbers and emails for NYU’s wellness center and hotline, as well as encouraging words to others to check in on loved ones and reach out for help if needed.

“I think that things that are based in student efforts are, a lot of the time, better and more accessible and more immediate than admin stuff,” Paine said. “We got an email about [the suicide] from the wellness center when we’d already finished the day of wholesome stuff. So it was like, well, we kind of beat y’all to the punch.”

Students have expressed frustration with the lack of response from NYU, however an email from Wellness Services was sent out on Thursday, with no mention of the suicide.

Paine referenced suicide clusters, a belief that one suicide can trigger others. There is research that suggests that young people are most affected by suicide clusters, according to the New York Times. Paine’s concern was for the student population not having information to aid them, if necessary, after hearing of the news.

The creator of the page, Tatishev, also stressed how important it was to the admins not to trivialize what happened.

“We talked about making a week long commitment of only posting wholesome content and calling it Wholesome Week,” Tatishev wrote. “However as some of my team members pointed out, that could be misinterpreted as us ‘milking’ the situation and it would send the wrong message.”

They decided on a single day theme, and an outpouring of wholesome content followed.

“The overwhelming positive response to Wholesome Wednesday was comforting because I’ve dealt with mental health issues in the past and the news of the suicide hit me pretty hard,” Jinny Hwang, a sophomore NYU student at Shanghai and meme page admin, wrote via Facebook message. “It taught me that the NYU community may not have a physical or enclosed campus, but when s–t hits the fan, we’re all here for each other to spread love and positivity.”

NYU sophomore Emery Whiteman is a member of the meme page and felt like the mission of Wholesome Wednesday had a positive impact.

“It reminds you of the friends and family you have, and that you can reach out for support,” she said.

That sentiment is emphasized by the flood of comments and likes on the multitude of posts created on Wednesday. Other admins praised member’s contributions and responses in a time of sadness for the NYU community.

“I saw the community come together and express their kindness and understanding to each other,” Tatishev wrote. “I saw people being informed of what happened and I saw what people had to say about the state of university’s mental wellness program. This is a heavy topic and people pointed out all the flaws with how university is dealing with it.”

The mental health services at NYU have been a point of contention and disagreement among students, who say that the services aren’t widespread enough. Comments on Wholesome Wednesday posts detailed flaws in NYU’s system and student’s frustration with their experiences.

“There’s not enough counselors at all,” Paine said, speaking of his own experiences with the NYU Wellness Center. “With the amount that students are paying, we could have more counselors.”

Paine also cited disappointing interactions with counselors, outsourcing, and unexpected costs.

John Stanley, NYU Junior and meme page admin, emphasized student advocacy in order to encourage changes.

“As a society, we have a long way to go before we fully legitimize mental health issues, and in a competitive school such as NYU, it’s doubtful that these changes will come without a more specific, vocal demand from students,” Stanley wrote via email.

As NYU and students grapple with the realities of mental health at the largest private university in America, online communities like the NYU Meme page hope to be a source of support and positivity.

“It was heartwarming to see the page be a safe place, a place to grieve for the fellow student,” Tatishev wrote. “I have received several messages thanking me for doing it, but in all honesty, it’s the community that really made it happen.”

Please contact these services if you or someone you know is having mental health troubles or experiencing thoughts of suicide: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Suicide Crisis Hotline at 1-800-783-2433. For NYU Students or faculty, you can also contact the 24-hour Wellness Exchange hotline at 212-443-9999 or 24-hour chat via the Wellness Exchange app.

Museum of Natural History greeted by protest on Columbus Day

Protestors gather at the steps of the American Museum of Natural History to protest the museums’s portrayal of indigenous groups and Columbus Day. Photo by Mikaela Gegelys.

Protests erupted outside of the American Museum of Natural History, yesterday as hundreds fought against racism and discrimination towards Indigenous people on Columbus Day.

“We are on occupied territory, we are on indigenous land, we are on Lenni Lenape land,” said protestor, Lorena Ambrosio. “That’s why we come out here on Indigenous Peoples Day to demand that this Museum be decolonized.”

In front of the American Museum of Natural History the statue of Theodore Roosevelt, with a Native American man and an African man standing behind him, drew the protestors anger. The believe the statue portrays white supremacy.

For the past three years their Columbus Day protest have included demands, to have the statue removed.

Regan Deloggans, a member of the indigenous community and of the American Indian Community House, a non-for-profit organization that represents the Native American community in New York City, said the museum is built on racism.

“We need to understand that this museum is built on pillars of white supremacy,” said Deloggans. “It still maintains native people, and other people of color including Oceania, African Americans, as if they are artifacts and we are living communities.”

Protestor, Samantha Keogh, was part of a broad diverse coalition of protesters, she believes that it is her civic duty to fight for equality.

“I am here to support and amplify the voices of the indigenous people and people of color,” said Keogh. “They have been voicing these really big issues for a very long time and as a white person, I feel that it is one of my responsibilities to be here with my body and voice.”

The protests were organized by Decolonize This Place. Members of this group frequently protest on behalf of indigenous rights, racial equality, global work wages, and against gentrification. Every year on Columbus Day, the group organizes an Anti-Columbus Day tour throughout the American Museum of Natural History.

After the tour, the protestors gathered on the steps outside of the museum. People held banners, wore t-shirts, and recited call and response chants that begged for equality and fair treatment.

“We are fighting constantly for recognition, as well as equity.” said Deloggans.

 

Anti-Columbus Day Protests Take Over The American Museum Of Natural History

Columbus Day protestors listen to speakers from Decolonize This Place in the American Museum of Natural History yesterday. Photo by Sarah Patt

Over a thousand protestors gathered outside the American Museum of Natural History yesterday, to show their frustration with the museum’s legacy of celebrating colonialism.

The anti-Columbus Day protest was designed to bring to light the misrepresentation of Native Americans and other people of color in the museum. Activists want the museum to hire more indigenous curators and return artifacts to their original communities.

“[We] have been organizing decolonial action since 2016,” said Natasha Singh, a member of Decolonize This Place, the organizers of the protest.  “We’ve been asking the museum to start a decolonial commission and to also change the American Museum of Natural History into a decolonial space.”

Protestors stood at the museum entrance and handed out tickets for their version of the museum tour.

Members of the South Asia Solidarity Initiative stood in the museum hall titled, “The Lore of Asia” holding signs that read, “The Looting of Asia”.

“Colonialism was a system of looting,” said Rovindra Deb, a member of the South Asia Solidarity Initiative. “There are artifacts and relics that are inside the museum. These are not things that were procured in a legitimate way, they were actually looted.”

Deb, who is of Indian descent, said the museum makes mass generalizations about South Asian people.

“There is an exhibit in the museum about India,” said Deb.  “It talks about ‘the Indian way of life’. Well, you’re talking about 1.2 billion people, like there’s no way of life for 1.2 billion people.”

Deb also noted that the in the context of the exhibit, “India is sort of a stand in for [all of] South Asia.”

Activists also demanded the removal of the Theodore Roosevelt statue at the museum’s entrance. Roosevelt is flanked by caricature-like statues of a Native American man, and an African man. While Roosevelt is dressed in his military uniform and riding a horse, the other two statues wear little clothes and walk subserviently at his side.

“I brought a group here and we were talking about the statue,” said NYU Media, Culture, and Communication Professor Nick Mirzoeff, who attended the protest with group of grad students. “I was standing with a young woman who was from Senegal and she’s in my class, she’s looking at [the statue], and her eyes just filled with tears. Racism is toxic, it’s contagious, and it does damage to people.”

Mirzoeff is not the only New York City educator to bring his students to the American Museum of Natural History. It is the most visited museum in New York City. The majority of the visitors are school groups.

“I love to be informed, so I think it’s kind of a disrespect to me on how what I learned [about Columbus and Imperialism] in school is not the same thing I learned outside of school,” said Hanna Mingo, an 11th grade student from the Bronx.

The protestors also want Columbus Day to be renamed Indigenous People’s Day.

“I think it’s really important to reclaim this day, to really be a presence here, and calling out New York City, first of all, for still recognizing this day as Columbus Day,”  said indigenous activist, Lorena Ambrosio.

She called Columbus  “a colonizer and a genocidal maniac.”

 “We don’t want to honor that,”  she said. 

More than 50 U.S. cities have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day. 

Museum officials did not comment on the protest.

 

Protestors Take to Midtown Streets to Protest Kavanaugh Confirmation

Protestors gather in Midtown on Sunday to protest the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Photo courtesy of “Kavanaugh Protest | I Hope You’re Praying” Facebook.

The streets of Midtown rang with the voices of men, women and children singing Ke$ha’s “Praying” in solidarity with sexual assault survivors.

Yesterday’s performance protest, held on 36th Street, was in response to Saturday’s Senate-wide vote that confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual assault by three women, including Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who testified against him during the confirmation hearings late last month.

Organizers Ruby Pittman and Laura Diffenderfer say they chose the song “Praying” because it is about finding strength after surviving a sexual assault.

“It’s a very natural way for us to express ourselves,” Diffenderfer said. “I sometimes feel so sad about these events we’ve gone through recently, and I don’t know that I necessarily want to go to a protest and yell or be angry. I just want to have emotions and let them go and I want to gain strength from other women and other survivors.”

Before taking to the streets, the group of performers spent an hour rehearsing the song with one hand in the air, the position Blasey Ford took while being sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27.

“We came together against the appointment of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court but also in support of women’s voices and for those who understand what it means to be silenced or misrepresented or not given equity in situations,” Pittman said.

Fatima Sindhu, 17, attended the protest after being shocked by Kavanaugh’s confirmation on Saturday.

“Me and my mom watched the vote yesterday, and she kept saying ‘he’s going to get confirmed,’” Sindhu said. “She always believes the negative. I was so hopeful and I really thought people wouldn’t vote for him. I was like ‘how could people support that?’ I was so angry.”

Sindhu said she attended to make her voice heard despite being too young to vote.

“This morning I found out about this protest and I felt like I had to do something,” she said. “It was very emotional. I don’t know how to explain the feeling but it was like I was a part of something. Everyone here was united for one cause.”

Diffenderfer said she was moved by the scope of the protest.

“I was in awe that so many people were there and we got to have this experience together and feel supported by one another,” she said. “That was probably the emotion that I felt most. I think a lot of this has made a lot of us feel very vulnerable and to have the onlookers join us felt really powerful.”

Although she found strength in her fellow protestors, Diffenderfer said she is still concerned about the future with Kavanaugh on the Court.

“It feels unbelievable in 2018 that we have to fight for this,” she said. “It’s not just Dr. Blasey Ford, it’s also that [Kavanaugh] wants to take away our rights. It’s not just this one event like did it happen, did it not. The whole picture doesn’t look good for women.”

 

Political Party rules for women in judgement of Kavanaugh

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, has sparked polarized reactions from women on both sides of the political spectrum.

“I totally believe her,” said Courtney Watson, 53, of the East Village. “I think he was blackout drunk and it’s totally conceivable that he doesn’t remember. But just because he doesn’t remember doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

Watson, who is the same age as Judge Kavanaugh, said that among her generation it was uncommon for women to come forward about being sexually assaulted. Girls at that age couldn’t confide in their parents because they were expected to be virgins.

“It was unthinkable to tell your mother if something happened to you because if she found out that you were at an unsupervised party and drunk, you’d be in huge trouble,” Watson said.

But while women have become more open to sharing their stories, the accusations have a brought a sense of fear to mothers of teenage boys about the current rape culture and bro culture in the United States that isn’t much different from when Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh were teenagers.

“Most women my age with teenage boys are very concerned about a culture of toxic masculinity in the United States, where men are expected to have conquests and drink excessively,” she said.

Watson is worried about what kind of message this sends to boys if Kavanaugh is appointed. She fears it will say that can get away with anything when they’re teenagers and still obtain high positions of power when they’re older. But she is optimistic that if he is appointed there will be tons of backlash, which “will only strengthen the blue wave that is coming.”

Lisa Bloomstein, a mother of teenage boy from Dix Hills, Long Island, said she hopes Kavanaugh is not confirmed.

“He has shown himself to be partisan and is obviously biased by the way he presented himself in his opening statements where he accuses the left wing and the Clintons of taking revenge,” she said. “How can you rule on things in a fair and unbiased manner when he has shown himself to be the contrary?” said Bloomstein.

But Christy Hurt, a middle aged Republican, from Glen Oaks, Long Island, called the hearing a “disgrace.” Hurt, like the majority of Republican women support the confirmation.

“This is all a setup by the Democrats in attempt to stall President Trump from appointing another Supreme Court Justice.” Hurt said. “Why would you sit on this (the sexual assault allegation) for over 30 years ago and now come forward?”

Hurt said she doesn’t think that something that happened in high school, whether or not the allegation is true, should come into play now.

“The person that I was in high school doesn’t reflect the person I am now,” Hurt said. “People change and to judge someone based on what they did in high school is hypocritical.”

Natalie Korn, an NYU student, agreed that Kavanaugh should still be appointed, even though she believes Dr. Ford’s testimony.

“I don’t even think there should be a question of whether or not you believe a woman that testifies for being sexually assaulted,” Korn said. “But I do think it is suspicious that she’s coming out with this information at this very point in time when he’s been in public office for so long.”

Korn believes Kavanaugh’s moral character is not an issue.

“All politicians’ characters are compromised,” she said. “He is a qualified politician and has been in office for quite some time.”

New Yorkers march against the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh

Protesters held up signs as they marched through Midtown Manhattan Monday night. They were protesting the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Photo by Mikaela Gegelys

The streets of Midtown Manhattan were flooded with protestors Monday night, as thousands gathered to march against Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

“It is important to show up to have these conversations,” said New York University student and protestor Sylvie Wilk. “We need to center the focus on those who are most vulnerable to this newest assault on the justice system.”

Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual misconduct by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick. But it was the testimony of Blasey Ford on Thursday and the rush to confirm the judge that led to New Yorkers marching. The march began at Madison Square Park, then stopped in front of the Yale Club, a private club for Yale alumni and faculty, and ended with a rally at Grand Central Station.

Morris Rakner, a graduate of Yale University and an attorney, is strongly against Kavanaugh’s nomination.

“I watched the hearing, I thought that Judge Kavanaugh handled himself very poorly and I think he was truly offensive,” said Rakner. “I think he would potentially be way too partisan to judge issues that had a political bearing.”

Samantha Schwartz attended the march to fight the gender double standard.

“I think it’s really disappointing that men get to grow up with this idea that their actions don’t have consequences,” said Schwartz. “With Kavanaugh in a place of power it shows young men that their actions don’t have consequences and it can get them into a place of power.”

In addition to Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual assault, some protestors believe that Kavanaugh should not be nominated because they think that he lied in his testimony. Dr. John Heon, an education consultant, did not believe that Kavanaugh was honest in the hearing.

“This (Kavanaugh’s hearing) is truly an indication that we are in the post-truth era,” he said. “Kavanaugh has such a record that we can’t say at this point exactly what happened, but there is enough evidence that things did happen that were reprehensible and we have to take it seriously.”

Heon also believes that Republicans should propose an alternative for Kavanaugh in the nomination.

“If the Republicans can’t come up with someone who is untainted by sexual assault, then there is a problem,” said Heon.