OPINION: To End a Culture of Bigotry and Violence, Write

To say it's been a tough month for women would be a considerable understatement.

After a bitter struggle between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court on October 6 by a narrow, two-vote margin. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's September 27 testimony, in which she described her alleged assault at Kavanaugh’s hands, and a second round of FBI investigations into it did not succeed at thwarting the appointment.

It did, however, bring forth an outpouring of sexual assault survivor accounts from women across the country and inspire protests and activism. On our own campus, reproductive justice activist Angela Maske (NHS '19) devoted weeks to lobbying Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to vote against Kavanaugh's confirmation. You can read the story of her activism, both on and off campus, in these pages.

Kavanaugh's nomination process came at a turning point in a cultural crisis spurred by #MeToo a year ago. This year, individuals from all walks of life—from media company executives to college professors—had to grapple with the movement's revelations, to make a choice between speaking truth to power or staying hidden. The Caravel leadership, too, worked to reevaluate our mission and to acknowledge the responsibility we have as a media outlet not to ignore crucial societal shifts taking place around us. In an effort to bring attention to hard conversations surrounding sexual harassment and discrimination, we launched Compass Gender, a newsletter dealing with gender, sexuality, and intersectionality.

For me, Compass Gender was also born of #MeToo and the fundamental exhaustion that comes with being a woman in this pivotal cultural moment, which simultaneously pulled back the curtain on the silent suffering of generations of women and brought forth anger, outrage, and denial from those refusing to part with an ounce of their privilege. Compass Gender is my challenge to the feeling of profound helplessness that comes with scrolling through Twitter every morning, confronted by fresh allegations of assault and unspeakable, anonymous misogyny.

To write about these topics, honestly and objectively, is but one small act in keeping bigotry and violence from creeping back into the shadows where we have allowed it to fester for generations. But one act, however small, is better than inaction.