Rachel McClurg
Editor-in-Chief
Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh faced multiple sexual assault allegations from a long time ago. Kavanaugh denied these allegations, and many are torn on who they think is telling the truth.
“Where my doubt came in was the quality of the evidence and we have to be careful with making sure that we aren’t convicting on evidence that is untrue or is not accurate,” Melissa Elliott, a professor of biology, said. “I mean history is full of people that have lost their lives because somebody lied.”
Though it may be difficult to determine who is telling the truth, some have mentioned not jumping to conclusions when looking into things similar to this.
“I really do believe in the idea of never re-victimizing victims and listening to them and believing them but at the same time being careful not to rush to judgement until I know more about the situation for the accused also,” Cheree Anthony-Encapera, professor of behavioral sciences, said.
With situations like this, figuring out as a country how to handle allegations that do not contain a lot of evidence and that are more of a “he said she said” thing is still a process that can be tricky.
“I think again people are afraid of repercussions and so they wait 30 years and by then it’s too late,” Elliot said. “You have to be able to recognize what is the truth and what is falsehood and sometimes that line is pretty blurred.”
According to various news articles such as the Washington Post, there have been reports of other women coming forward saying that they have been assaulted by Kavanaugh as well.
“Meanwhile, two other women have also emerged with similar allegations against Kavanaugh, also in the context of heavy drinking,” Washington Post journalist Glenn Kessler said “He has adamantly denied that he ever attacked any woman.”
There are also many people that knew Kavanaugh at the time the sexual assault would have taken place that have stepped up to defend him. NBC News published a quote from women that knew Kavanaugh at the time.
“We are women who have known Brett Kavanaugh for more than 35 years and knew him while he attended high school between 1979 and 1983,” Sixty-five women that knew Kavanaugh in high school said. “For the entire time we have known Brett Kavanaugh, he has behaved honorably and treated women with respect.”
Kavanaugh was confirmed on Saturday, Oct. 6 as America’s 114th Supreme Court Justice.
