“It’s a very scary time for young men,” Donald Trump said this week, referring to the Kavanaugh hearings.
In case you’ve been ignoring the news for the past month, Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Supreme Court nominee, was accused by UNC alumna Dr. Christine Blasey Ford of sexual assault. In her testimony, Ford said he held her pressed against a bed and attempted to strip her at a party in the '80s.
This quote comes in a long line of misogynist sayings from the president. Such as, “If the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed,” or, “It’s just locker room talk.”
Directly after hearing the President degrade women, I began to think about how I would react, and how I would feel if anything ever happened to my sisters, my mother or my female friends. I thought about the anger and revenge that I would undoubtedly feel.
Though plenty of men over time have been upset by the notion of rape and sexual assault, little has been done by the male community to demolish the very group that protects figures like Trump and Kavanaugh. But this is 2018 and it's high time we ended the 'Boys Club.'
For decades fraternities have been the epitome of rape culture across the country. They have taken new college males and taught them that alcohol is reason enough to sexually assault someone and then forget about it later. These frat guys grow up to become Supreme Court justice nominees.
So what role do our fraternities play in dismantling the Boys Club?
First and foremost, fraternities must do a better job at sexual assault education. It’s important that men know that one in three women will experience some form of sexual violence in their lives. If fraternities spent more time educating members on the impacts of sexual assault and how to prevent it, they could positively change the development of men in college.
Secondly, we need to hold our brothers accountable. We owe it to our organizations, but more importantly, we owe it to the future. A future where women will not fear going to fraternity outings or Time-Out at 3 a.m. A future where men are not afraid of being accused of sexual assault but instead afraid of disrespecting their fellow Tar Heels, or anyone.
