Students protest Kavanaugh

University of Connecticut graduate student Kitty O’Riordan and junior Grace Kane hold signs during a rally Tuesday at UConn to protest Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s potential confirmation to the Supreme Court.

STORRS — Rather than the usual chatter of students heard on the walk to class, voices demanding to be heard filled the University of Connecticut Storrs campus Tuesday.

At issue was embattled U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Chants reverberated from Fairfield Way: “Hey hey! Ho ho! Patriarchy has got to go!”

A crowd of UConn students congregated at noon Tuesday to stand in solidarity with all women and victims of sexual abuse in light of the current political climate.

The public demonstration was a rally in protest of Kavanaugh’s potential confirmation as a Supreme Court justice and a declaration of support for his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.

A professor at Palo Alto University in California, Ford publicly alleged in mid-September that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982 while both were in high school.

More than 10 university organizations were involved with facilitating the event, led by Youth for Socialist Action and co-sponsored by a number of groups, including the UConn Graduate Employee Union and the UConn College Democrats, among others.

Student leaders declared a call-to-action for the young members of the university in the audience, emphasizing the need to have their voices heard and show up in numbers at the polls this November.

“The way that Brett Kavanaugh acts around women, and towards women, is inexcusable and disqualifying,” said Max Seifert, president of the UConn College Democrats.

About 25 percent of the millennial demographic is estimated to vote this fall, Seifert said.

He said even a 50 percent turnout could make the difference they need.

“Other than speaking, the easiest way is to vote,” Seifert said, “to take our anger and our energy to the ballot box on Nov. 6 and to support those who oppose Brett Kavanaugh and to make sure that those who support him are out of a job.”

Katie Arpino, a member of Youth for Socialist Action, looked further than just the potential confirmation of Kavanaugh.

“This isn’t just a fight against the appointment of someone who sees women as lesser than him to the Supreme Court,” Arpino said. “This is a fight for our lives, for our well-being, and for the future of our children.

“The power is located inside the people, not upon placement in the governmental legislature paid off by lobbyists and conglomerates.”

Alleyha Dannett, vice president of UConn’s National Council of Negro Women, acknowledged the power of even the smallest accomplishments made by sexual assault survivors.

“The fact that you get up in the morning … that you go to class, that you take care of yourself, is an accomplishment,” Dannett said.

“It is subversive and it defeats the patriarchy. Your existence is resistance.”

Originally published in The Chronicle on October 3, 2018.