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#MeToo converges at Rutgers with founder Tarana Burke Andrew Petryna Correspondent
The founder of the highly influential #MeToo campaign and civil rights activist Tarana Burke gave a 2-hour presentation in front of more than 900 attendees last night at the College Avenue Gymnasium. Burke first put together the phrase “Me Too” in 2007 to accompany her new nonprofit organization that supported victims of sexual assault and harassment, according to an NJ Advance Media article. Now, more than a decade later, she spoke to Rutgers about the development of the movement and the ongoing struggle against sexual violence and abuse. A series of student performances preceded Burke’s presentation, including a poetry reading and stories from sexual assault survivors. The activist and Time’s Person of the Year started her speech with the history of her activism and youth after being introduced by vice chancellor of Student Affairs, Felicia McGinty. “There’s a lot of information out there about who I am and what this
work is, so what I’d like to do is clarify some of that. Talk about who I am, how I started to do this work and how we got here,” Burke said. The activist spoke about what the situation was like more than 20 years ago, when sexual assault was still a taboo topic that ever yone, even she at one point, tried to ignore. “I’m just one person. I’m one person who saw a problem and tried to ignore it. I tried my best to ignore it when it happened to me. I tried my best to ignore it when it happened to my family. I saw it breaking my community apart and I tried to ignore it,” she said. But Burke said that this is an issue that cannot be ignored. She described her various experiences as an educator and organizer, hearing dozens of stories from women and girls about their struggles with sexual abuse and violence. Her career as an organizer began when she realized how big the issue of assault was, how many women were affected by it and that change needed to happen. “We never even came together as a community to discuss sexual violence,
and what I knew and what I saw was we had a growing problem in our community, of epidemic proportions actually. This was tearing our community apart right in front of us and nobody was talking about it,” she said about her early years as an activist against sexual violence. Burke retold the story of how #MeToo started. Even though she uttered these two words a decade earlier, she was excited that a mass movement focusing on her life’s work was starting. On Oct. 15, 2017, actress Alyssa Milano made a tweet calling for women to reply to her post with the words “me too” if they had been the victims of sexual assault or abuse in the past, according to an Atlantic article. Within days, the words had spread to all kinds of social media platforms, with everyday women to high-profile actresses sharing their personal stories of harassment. The movement quickly gained the attention of the media and the whole nation as accusations against lifelong abusers and men of power brought well known figures like See FOUNDER on Page 4
Crime alert reports offcampus paintball assault
Editor at large talks about politics under Trump, role of higher education
Khaula Saad Editor In Chief
Alleged victims of an aggravated assault reported that they were hit with paintballs by perpetrators in a vehical on Monday, Feb. 12 at approximately 6 p.m., according to a crime alert sent out by Capt. Paul Fischer of the Rutgers Police Department. “A dark colored sedan with tinted windows was described by victims as being seen in the area at
Christian Zapata News Editor
William Kristol, editor at large of The Weekly Standard, had more than a few words about President Donald J. Trump and the current socio-political climate on Monday night. After a brief introduction, the ABC-television personality took the stage at Trayes Hall in the Douglass Student Center. He was met with cheers from an audience packed with students and predominantly older generations. Throughout his speech, Kristol spoke on a number of topics, many of which circled around American politics under the helm of Trump and what the countr y’s decision to elect him means for the future. The decision to elect Trump and the rapid growth of Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) during primary elections are anomalies that Kristol attributes to a level of unhappiness and dissatisfaction from both the Democrats and Republicans.
Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement, spoke about her early years as an activist and the ongoing fight against sexual violence and harassment. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ
the time of the incident, possibly occupied by two males,” according to the alert. The assault took place on Bristol Street between Guilden and Delafield Streets in the City of New Brunswick. The victims, who were affiliated with the University, reported no injuries and did not seek medical assistance at the time of the incident. The New Brunswick Police Department is currently investigating the incident.
William Kristol, editor at large for The Weekly Standard, spoke about the current socio-political climate under President Donald J. Trump with members of the community on Monday. GARRETT STEFFE “I think the sociologist or the historian at the time would say ‘well that’ll happen in the middle of the depression or that’ll happen in the middle of the war or in the middle of race riots.’ 2016 didn’t have any of that,” Kristol said, referencing the radical push away from Democrats and Republicans as seen by Trump and Sanders. He went onto explain that a shift in politicians that reflect neither side could be indicative of a change in what Americans want from their elected officials. Regularly reiterating his stance as “not a Trump supporter,” Kristol
said that despite scandalous headlines the first year under Trump has not been so bad. “Initially, though not the best appointments consistently across the board — some scandals, people coming and going … but again, at the end of the day, has it really fundamentally affected us as we sit here, has it affected most voters who drive to work ever y day?” he said. Kristol said the economy and market have been good and there See education on Page 4
Victims affiliated with the University were struck with paintballs while walking on Bristol Street between Guilden and Delafield streets at approximately 6 p.m. on Monday. GOOGLE MAPS
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