Denali Responds to Brett Kavanaugh

Since Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came forward with allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh from when the two of them were teenagers in high school, supporters of Judge Kavanaugh have rationalized, excused, and ignored the allegations. Through this systematic rationalization and purposeful ignorance, supporters of the nominee have fallen back on using previously outdated “boys will be boys” esque rhetoric, often citing Kavanaugh’s age at the time of the alleged assault as an excuse for his behavior.

Rod Dreher, a journalist for the American Conservative, wrote on Twitter, “I do not understand why the loutish drunken behavior of a 17-year-old high school boy has anything to tell us about the character of a 53-year-old judge.” In addition, The National Review stated that “teenagers in general and teenage boys, in particular, do a fair number of stupid, rude, and inappropriate things, and doubly so when drunk, horny, and in the presence of the opposite sex.” Gina Sosa, a former congressional candidate from Florida, went as far as to ask, “What boy hasn’t done this in high school?”

For many high schoolers, this rationalization of sexually violent behavior makes it seem as if supporters of Kavanaugh are excusing sexual assault of young perpetrators. At Summit Denali specifically, students found these excuses to be unfair to high schoolers and to the Kavanaugh situation as a whole. Abby Bendixen, a 10th grader at Summit Denali, said that the matter was “really messed up to assume that all teen boys are going to sexually assault people.”

“That’s not biology. It’s not science that [boys] are going to sexually assault [people],” she said. She argued that sexual assault is a choice for perpetrators and is taught as being acceptable in this society. “It’s of their free will,” she says. “It’s not a matter of ‘boys will be boys.’ Boys should be held accountable for their actions.”

Among students interviewed at Denali, there was a common idea that sexual assault in high school should not go without accountability. Michael Stavnitser, a 10th grader at Summit Denali, said that supporters of Kavanaugh, like those mentioned before, were “sending the message out that it’s ok to do this kind of stuff.”

Aiden Mccracken, another 10th grader at Summit Denali, said, “It’s saying ‘go ahead and assault people, [victims] will be too scared to come out against you, and if they do, then it’s easy to defend [yourself],’”

“But in reality, it’s not ok,” Stavnitser said on high school sexual violence.

“[Sexual assault] is just not ok in any circumstance,” Mccracken agreed. “It doesn’t matter what you are...Assaulting someone is still assaulting someone,” he said.

School sexual assault has been in the headlines even before Judge Kavanaugh's accusers came forward. Since coming into power in 2017, the Trump administration has rolled back protections for students coming forward with claims of sexual assault. Education secretary Betsy DeVos introduced a set of “new rules” for colleges in the U.S. in August that narrowed the definition of sexual misconduct. According to the New York Times, the rules will also “bolster the rights of students accused of assault, harassment or rape” and “reduce liability for institutions of higher education.” This is expected to make it harder for victims who are students to come forward and reduce the possibility of any type of accountability or punishment to be assigned to the perpetrator.

Sexual violence in high school is an ongoing and relevant problem. The most recent allegations are just another chapter in the long book of sexual violence in school and among young people. The seriousness of this issue is impossible to ignore; it is reprehensible to downplay its seriousness through excusing and rationalizing the accusations made by credible victims.

On the seriousness of sexual assault, Stavnitser stated that it was worse than Judge Kavanaugh’s defenders were making it out to seem. “He did something much worse than they are quoting as ‘bad,’” Stavnitser said. “Something bad is like, putting an egg on someone’s seat,” Stavnitser continued. “That’s bad. This is much worse.”