Girls question role in workplace amid controversy

It’s Nov. 29 at 9 a.m. WHS senior Julia Friss sits in her homeroom scrolling through her phone while the morning announcements pipe through the classroom speakers. As she is looking at her phone, she sees an alert that one of her childhood heroes, journalist Matt Lauer, has been fired from the Today show due to sexual harassment allegations
Friss is immediately shocked and devastated. Though she is distraught at first, Friss eventually concludes that “even people who seem great can do these terrible things.”
Lauer surely is not the only public figure to have come under fire lately for inappropriate behavior. In what has become a tidal wave of accusations, women across America are exposing the threatening actions of their male superiors, causing female students at WHS to think about their own futures in the workplace.
“I think it is extremely disturbing that so many men have gotten away with it all this time, but I am glad that women are finally beginning to stand up and tell people,” said Friss.
Since accusations made against American film producer Harvey Weinstein two months ago, many women have been inspired to come out against men who they claim have sexually harassed them.
Americans have been looking up to these recently-accused men their whole lives, and many don’t know how to react.
“To think that sexual assault is so common is scary,” said senior Evie Miller. “Everyone would like to think it won’t or couldn’t happen to them, or that they could fight off their attacker, but in reality you never know. I am proud that women are standing up against their perpetrators and standing up for one another.”
With daily allegations, some are wondering, what do we say to the young women entering the workforce? How do we stop this culture of intimidation and sexual misconduct?
“It is hard being someone who wants to have a career in a field that is male-dominated and have to deal with the threat of being sexually harassed,” said senior Kylinn Kraemer.
The answers to these questions are not simple, and according to WHS students, there is no one way of thinking when it comes to handling sexual harassment.
Friss thinks the issues lie within the way our society handles these situations as a whole.
“I think these allegations should change our perception,” Friss said. “We should look at these people with an understanding that they are capable of doing terrible things just like anyone else. They shouldn’t get special treatment because they are in a position of power.”
Senior Hannah Brogan believes these issues stem from the way we educate children.
“We need to teach kids at a young age that sexual harassment will not be tolerated,” Brogan said. “Little comments implying sexual things without consent need to be taken seriously, because young kids can easily grow up with the mindset that they won’t be punished and that they can do whatever they want.”
In situations like these we tend to react immediately, but sometimes the best option is to take time and think about how we should move forward.
“We have to let there be more questions and discourse before we can find some of those answers,” said Ms. Kimberly Gosen-Fowler, WHS English teacher and mother of three girls. “That means gaining momentum and finding more avenues for people to talk.