To the Hamilton Community,

Thank you for coming out on Friday. Thank you for making your voices heard. Thank you for warming my cold, cynical heart by showing me that we are not as apathetic as I assumed. Thank you to everyone who wore black. Thank you to the faculty who allowed students to leave class to join in the demonstration. Thank you to the students who left class regardless.

The whole experience was overwhelming. The passion and conviction with which protestors spoke was moving, inspiring, and brave as anything. I am happy that there are so many people who feel strongly about affecting change, and I am glad that we could show the Hill that we as a community will not stand in silence and accept sexual misconduct on this campus.

As we move forward, I urge those who came out to protest to channel your anger into meaningful action. Airing grievances in a public forum was an invigorating exercise, and it is absolutely essential for us to keep that spirit going not just through the end of the semester, but through the coming years.

Frankly, the chances of us changing the way the Title IX office operates, curbing sexual assault numbers, and increasing reporting rates significantly are fairly slim. The only chance we have to make a difference on the Hill is to work hard and support each other every week, not just one Friday in April. We have to work with the school because they hold all of the cards in this situation. Hamilton is a massive institution with a $1 billion endowment and we are a bunch of pissed off 20-somethings with a megaphone. This is an uphill battle that demands continuous work and thoughtful, careful discourse. If everyone who came out on Friday put that much passion into fixing sexual assault on campus every week of the school year, into doing policy work with the administration, into supporting and sustaining survivor support groups, into policing our peers in all situations, on or off campus, our slim chances at success would grow exponentially.

Keep the pressure on.

Sincerely,

Peter Case ’21

Editorial Editor