https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/21/brett-kavanaugh-blame-women-anita-hill-cosby-weinstein

I think of Dr. Ford sitting across from all those white men, who have the power to judge her credibility — which they will attack. So let’s imagine a tenure case in which senior white males send in secret poison letters, fearful of junior faculty who have already demonstrated they will speak out about professorial sexual misconduct. These men have long considered sexual access to students as part of their compensation package — and they are determined to be rid of a junior colleague who does not go along to get along. She is not a dutiful daughter, and would never counsel another woman to be one either. These men have far too much power to determine a woman’s fate, be it in the courtroom, the boardroom, the hallowed halls of the Ivy Leagues, or on the Supreme Court.

Retaliation is real and this is an important case. It points to why it matters that we are heard before a jury of our peers and not a judge in private proceedings. Senior professors have the power to sink a tenure case with a poisoned letter, a pernicious phone call, or a biased and vindictive appearance before an ad hoc committee. I press on with my lawsuit against Harvard because certain people should be held accountable for what they did—- and others for what they failed to do.

Theidon.CV.2017