Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony during the Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearing of September 2018 revealed the stark political divide in the private school community of D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia. The Fem Word Youth Correspondent Arshia Arora attends Dr. Ford's alma mater Holton-Arms School for girls in Bethesda, Maryland.
As the nation watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testify against Supreme Court then nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 27, 2018, the D.C.-Maryland-Northern Virginia (DMV for short) private school community knew things would never be the same.
It was on everyone’s minds, testing our feelings about where this country is moving in terms of sexual assault and the way confirming a Supreme Court justice works. As a student who currently attends the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland — the high school that Dr. Ford attended for four years, during which time she states she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh — I have seen firsthand how the hearing has affected this area's private school community.
Students at the Holton-Arms School and Georgetown Preparatory School (where now Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh attended high school) have actively spoken out with their opinions, some supporting their respective schools and others disagreeing. Holton-Arms was initially silent regarding current events and did not address the hearing. On September 16, 2018, Head of School Susanna Jones released a statement. While Jones did not explicitly say that she and the school were supporting either Ford or Kavanaugh, she stated, “As a school that empowers women to use their voices, we are proud of this alumna for using hers.”
Soon after Jones’ statement, Holton-Arms began sending emails and updates alerting parents and students as to how the school was handling the situation. The school also increased security in order to block press from entering campus and advised students not to speak to reporters.
Georgetown Preparatory School (known as Georgetown Prep) took similar actions, with the staff remaining silent for a week before speaking to students and parents about the school’s stance.
Georgetown Prep also did not explicitly side with Kavanaugh or Ford, partly due to strong disagreement among members of the school community, said a current sophomore. The student (who wished to remain anonymous) also talked about his opinions on the hearing, saying that he is part of the minority in his school because he believes Ford while many students support Kavanaugh. Those students in the majority, he explained, consider their opinion to be a way to stand by Georgetown Prep rather than particularly agreeing with Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
The student I spoke with also heard many state their support for Kavanaugh because they support President Trump. “I was definitely disappointed about how political it was…people were divided on the issue based on whether or not they were a Republican or Democrat,” he said.
When asked for her opinion on how Holton-Arms students and staff have handled the press, a recent alumna (who also desired to remain anonymous) replied, “[the school said] Holton students shouldn’t be talking to reporters, which I think they shouldn’t be…some students did, and I personally thought that was a bad idea.” She went on to say that by speaking to the press, students are bringing Holton-Arms’ name into the limelight, which could be detrimental to the school. The alumna talked about Head of School Jones’ statement and shared her belief that it was a strong statement because the school supported Ford for using her voice without taking her side, as “there might be some people at Holton who don’t [believe Ford].”
Another Holton-Arms alumna echoed the school’s sentiment that people should “advocate for women’s issues… It’s really nice to see that women are being more active and being supportive of each other.”
A current senior at Holton-Arms talked about the hearing and Dr. Ford's testimony in light of conversations about sexual assault and the current women’s movement. “We read a lot in history textbooks about social change and women’s rights movements in the 1960s,” she said. “It’s really interesting to be part of a movement right now and to actually be aware of it… I think it’s great that a lot of women are speaking out.”
Students, faculty, and alumnae of both Holton-Arms and Georgetown Prep have found themselves in the midst of history. Attending an all-girls school has taught me the importance of using my voice and advocating for what I believe. I am proud that not only has an alumna of my school spoken out, but also that many women throughout the United States and the world have begun important conversations about sexual assault in our culture, its influence on today’s generation, and how change is being made with the #MeToo movement.
Sadly, I feel that this hearing’s result and the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice only further perpetuate rape culture by demonstrating that what one does in the past won’t have much of a negative effect on his or her future, and, therefore, there are no consequences.
Only time will tell how this moment will impact the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia private school community and our nation as a whole.
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