[dropcap style=”light” size=”5″]O[/dropcap]nly six months ago, Harvey Weinstein was a successful film producer renowned throughout Hollywood for his work. Then, everything immediately changed for Weinstein when dozens of women, including actresses Angelina Jolie and Reese Witherspoon, publicly accused him of sexual harrassing and, in some cases, raping them.
These accusations not only created shock and disgust, but also sparked many more accusations of abuse against powerful men, including Minnesota senator Al Franklen. Such allegations, specifically those against Weinstein, inspired the #MeToo trend on Twitter, where millions of other women shared their encounters with sexual harassment. The Rock went out and spoke to students on their thoughts on these explosive accusations.
[heading size=”19″ margin=”15″]How do you feel about the recent string of sexual assault accusations against renowned men? [/heading]
“If the people that are accused of sexual harassment are guilty then they should be put in jail and if not then nothing should happen.” Parker Boone, Freshman“It’s a really big disappointment because Musical Theatre and just musical professions in general are things that I am interested in and to know that a lot of people are manipulating their power for that… it’s upsetting! It just says a lot about the future of people who are interested in that sort of thing.” Greta McNamee, sophomore“It’s very depressing, but I’m proud that people are starting to stand up for it and it’s coming out in the media because we wouldn’t normally see this stuff happening. So it’s kind of like a chain effect. One person did it and now everyone is coming forward. It’s a good thing and I’m glad that it’s out there.” Piper Page, junior“I think that it [awareness for sexual harassment] is a really big step forward in terms of achieving equality.” Yash Khanna, senior
Want to learn more? If so, take our sexual harrassment quiz here.
Yash has the right idea! Yes, these allegations are upsetting, but they have been happening for years and just been brushed under the rug. It’s much better that they be exposed and prevented, rather than being ignored.
Amanda Kurukulasuriya • Feb 2, 2018 at 11:48 am
Yash has the right idea! Yes, these allegations are upsetting, but they have been happening for years and just been brushed under the rug. It’s much better that they be exposed and prevented, rather than being ignored.