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| George Mason University students are calling on the school to stop Justice Brett Kavanaugh from teaching a GMU summer course near London. |
GMU is putting Kavanaugh over students |
| By Zach Eisenstein |
| On the morning of my graduation from George Mason University, I had a conversation with President Ángel Cabrera. He was kind. He was comforting. We took a selfie together. |
| But that was five years ago. If I had the opportunity to chat with President Cabrera again, I wouldn't ask for a photo. I'd ask for answers. I would ask, "How could you possibly allow Brett Kavanaugh to teach at your university?" |
| The news of his hire indicates that Kavanaugh signed a three-year contract as a distinguished visiting professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School to co-teach a summer course in in Runnymede, England. When the story broke, my phone was buzzing with texts from my friends and family all expressing disbelief. How could Mason be so tone-deaf? |
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| The Kavanaugh story broke at a time when many of my friends and I were also dealing with another sexual misconduct scandal at Mason: The #MeToo nightmare we lived as members of the GMU forensics team. For over a decade, the program was led by a monster who has now been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple former students. |
| One account of sexual harassment was reported last August in The Washington Post, thanks to the bravery of a student who came forward. But the depths of the issues experienced by those of us who competed under the former director largely remained uncovered. |
 | | Zach Eisenstein and George Mason University President Ángel Cabrera | | Zach Eisenstein/Handout | |
| A number of my former teammates have been dealing with much worse: They've been reliving trauma. |
| Through all of this, I have seen the damage that comes with allowing an accused predator to teach on a college campus. And the impacts I've seen are only applicable to an isolated group of students competing in a niche activity that most people have never heard of. |
| Imagine the harm that the hiring of Kavanaugh, a man who caused a nation of survivors to relive their trauma, might cause for students at the university he has just been welcomed into. |
| Following the infamous Kavanaugh hearings, The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network reported a 338% increase in hotline traffic and marked Friday, Sept. 28, 2018 — the day after the hearing — as the single busiest day in the National Sexual Assault Hotline's 24-year history. To assume that seeing Kavanaugh on campus won't spark a similar response for students would be a gross misjudgment. |
| This is not about liberals versus conservatives. This is not a political disagreement. This is an acknowledgement of the clear message being sent to survivors at GMU that says, "We don't care about you." |
| When I look back on my time at GMU, I do so fondly. The experiences I had were overwhelmingly positive. But something, especially something as vast and complex as a university of over 35,000 students, can be both wonderful and in dire need of fixing at the same time. |
| My alma mater continues to fail survivors. Right now, I'm embarrassed. I'm ashamed. And I am severely disappointed by GMU's inadequate responses to accusations of sexual misconduct. Mason administrators need to pay more than just lip service to survivors. They need to make decisions that put their carefully crafted words of support into legitimate action. And they can start by admitting and reversing their mistake in hiring Kavanaugh. |
| To Ángel Cabrera: I hope you seriously reconsider this harmful action you have taken in the name of notoriety for your law school. And I want you to ask yourself, "Is this one hiring decision more important than the mental well-being of Mason students?" Because, right now, you're answering, yes. |
| Zach Eisenstein is the senior communications manager at The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). He was a student at George Mason University from 2010 to 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @zacheisenstein. |
What others are saying |
| GMU President Ángel Cabrera, statement : "I respect the views of people who disagreed with Justice Brett Kavanaugh's Senate confirmation due to questions raised about his sexual conduct in high school. But he was confirmed and is now a sitting justice. The law school has determined that the involvement of a U.S. Supreme Court justice contributes to making our law program uniquely valuable for our students. And I accept their judgment. This decision, controversial as it may be, in no way affects the university's ongoing efforts to eradicate sexual violence from our campuses." |
| GMU student, Board of Visitors meeting: "As a survivor of sexual assault this decision has really impacted me negatively. It is affecting my mental health knowing that an abuser will be part of our faculty." |
| Robby Soave, Reason.com : "Even if an investigation (on the allegations against Kavanaugh) were to take place, this would hardly placate the student activists: They want the university to #CancelKavanaugh immediately. This follows from the fourth-wave feminist presumption that all self-proclaimed survivors of sexual misconduct must be telling the truth — even though at least one of the Kavanaugh accusations is extremely dubious. It would be a terrible blow to the principles of fairness and academic freedom if a university were to un-person one of the foremost judicial figures in the country over this. Cabrera should continue to reject the activists' demands." |
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