The New School Free Press is a student-run class where we try to sift through the complexities of life at The New School, and give clarity — and sometime comic relief — to the daily juggle here. See, for example, the story in this issue about the spectre of Christina Aguilera.
We also dig into some serious issues. Jacquelyn Greenfield’s personal essay about restoring voting rights to felons in Florida is an important perspective on the power of voting. We also turned over our center spread to print Molly Mintz’ piece on how to report a Title IX violation at the New School. The story also lives online. These processes to report should be simple and easy. Someone who has been hurt should know the clearest path of reporting how they’ve been hurt, if that’s their decision. We know that they’re not easy. I think we could poster this story around campus and it wouldn’t be too much.
As editor-in-chief, I try to think about how the Free Press can best serve this community I want this newspaper to inform the community on the issues that affect it.
A piece like Molly’s is necessary for this campus, for this moment in time.
It’s a hard time to live in. The Kavanaugh hearing and confirmation made me, and so many people, feel especially powerless. I’ve often been sent into a dark tailspin reading the latest account of a man using his power and the systems that enable him to take advantage of people. It feels as though these abuses are inescapable.
It’s been a rough time.
I’ve been working through some personal trauma this year. This year would have been easier if I took the time to take care of myself. It was especially hard to bear amid the accounts of sexual assault that dominated much of the news cycle.
Some medical professionals said that this coverage is causing secondary trauma. These responses are common when sexual assault is in the news, said Nancy Glass, associate director for the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health.
“When people hear others telling their stories, it can ‘trigger’ them, it can bring back memories of their own experiences, even if it’s from a long time ago,” Glass told the Washington Post.
Dr. Jamila Perritt, an OBGYN and fellow with the Physicians for Reproductive Health, told Forbes that the secondary trauma caused by the coverage of Kavanaugh hearings caused many survivors of sexual assault is real, with real psychological and physical health effects.
I’ve been working to practice better mindfulness recently. I’ve committed to taking more time to take care of myself. We have to take care of ourselves before we can help others, before we can do anything else.
We hope you take this issue into your break with you, and that this break gives you time to take care. Take some time off. Enjoy it. We’ll be back in the spring.
— Ryanne Salzano, editor-in-chief
If you’re a victim of sexual assault and need assistance, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800)799-7233 or the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800)656-4673.