This summer, Brett Kavanaugh will be teaching a course on the origins of the U.S. Constitution at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia School of Law campus in London. Jennifer Mascott, an assistant professor of law at George Mason and a former clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals in the D.C. Circuit, will be joining him for the course. Mascott came to Kavanaugh’s defense when he was accused of sexual assault.
Sexual assault survivors at George Mason’s main campus have been mobilizing to have Kavanaugh removed. At a meeting with the Board of Visitors, one student said “as a survivor of sexual assault, this decision has really impacted me negatively, it has affected my mental health knowing that an abuser will be part of our faculty.” A group on campus called Mason 4 Victims has also created a petition to remove Kavanaugh and requests the school to issue a formal apology. They also are requesting that the school release all documents related to Kavanaugh’s hire.
The university’s president, Angel Cabrera, is refusing to let Kavanaugh go. Neil Gorsuch will also be teaching a class at the law school’s campus in Padua, Italy.
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexual assaulting her while they were both in high school during the 1980s. According to an account Ford gave to the Washington Post, Kavanaugh was intoxicated when he trapped her in a bedroom at a party, pinned her to the bed, groped her, grinded his body against hers, and attempted to remove her clothing. She alleges that Kavanaugh held her down when she tried to get away and covered her mouth with his hand when she tried to scream for help. Eventually she was able to escape, and says that for decades she has been coping with the trauma from that night. Dr. Ford testified in front of Congress, however Republicans discredited her and Kavanaugh was placed on the Supreme Court anyways.
Media Resources: Washington Post 4/9/19; Feminist Newswire 9/17/18; Washington Post 9/16/18
