Students reflect on assault, vulnerability

The Student Assembly for Gender Empowerment held a public Survivor & Ally Reflection Space event at Ronald Tutor Campus Center, where three students discussed the recent hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the importance of having vulnerable conversations and how USC can provide additional funding for resources.

After a 20-minute delay due to miscommunication regarding the event location, the session began with a discussion about the Kavanaugh hearing and the pain of watching the proceedings alone. The students also commented on Monday’s rally regarding an email Price School of Public Policy professor James Moore sent last week stating “accusers sometimes lie” in sexual abuse allegations.

Michaela Murphy, a junior majoring in public policy, spoke about the frustration of seeing people in positions of authority being insensitive to victims’ pain. The conversation also included the men’s actions against these hearings and protests.

“The silence is deafening,” Murphy said. “When you have people in positions not setting a standard in a situation when it’s already difficult to seek out help, where are you supposed to turn to?”

Kavisha Prajapati, a sophomore majoring in political science, shared her thoughts about the conversation.

“It’s tough because it’s a very heavy topic that people don’t go around mentioning on the daily, but I feel like conversations like these definitely help,” Prajapati said.

Prajapati also stated that the issue with these voluntary conversations is that the few people who show up are the usually the only ones open to learning more.  

“I think the issue is [that] we need to educate people who aren’t aware about it and who aren’t showing up to these meetings,” Prajapati said. “I don’t know how we can bring more awareness to people who aren’t aware.”

Prajapati spoke of her male friends who she said are respectful, yet fearful of the undefined boundaries between appropriate and inappropriate conduct. The three students agreed that a willingness to listen was the first step for men to take, and cited the importance of addressing the toxic masculinity that is “embedded everywhere into society.”

“I would like to see more funding and support in different resource centers,” Murphy said. “Don’t give me another Provost [Michael] Quick memo …Take those steps first before you put in a Trader Joe’s or a Target at the Village.”

Despite hosting the event, no leaders from SAGE attended.