At issue: Organizing a rapid response to overwhelming events.
Our take: Let’s maintain this momentum.
Last Thursday, the nation watched as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Viewing the hearing was almost inevitable as classrooms, offices, and restaurants across the nation tuned into various news outlets. Accusing Judge Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party in 1982, Ford served as a beacon of courage and perseverance for survivors of sexual assault. Many of these survivors described past Thursday’s events as triggering, due to Judge Kavanaugh’s unstable temperament and the likelihood of his appointment to the Supreme Court.
After the intense events of Thursday, two students decided to organize a protest addressing Senator Jeff Flake’s appearance at Forbes Under 30 Summit, which was originally scheduled at Colonial Theatre. The Facebook event quickly gained a lot of attention and the college canceled the event due to safety concerns. But that didn’t stop the organizers who moved the protest to the new location of Flake’s appearance at City Hall Plaza. What started as an Emerson-based protest grew into something much larger and attracted hundreds of protestors and prominent public figures to speak.
We are proud. Proud of every Emerson student and survivor involved in such an important, emotionally draining act of advocacy, and every individual who joined the protest to demand justice. At the Beacon, we find there’s an obvious right and wrong in the matter, and we wholeheartedly support those willing to exhibit the strength and take the sacrifice to stand at the forefront of chaos.
Those involved deserve recognition for their capabilities to organize such a peaceful, operative demonstration. Almost instantaneously as the news of Flake’s appearance reached public attention, students like Erin Swauger and Annie Noel took no time to instigate action. We are all part of the resistance, and it takes people as bold as these Emerson students to enact any real change.
Now, we hope that these voices behind Monday’s protest will translate into votes. Those silenced in the past finally hold the power to affect the legislation that cemented this cycle of misogyny and injustice.They must take advantage of this opportunity.
