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Friday, March 29, 2024
<p>Award-winning journalist and author Jodi Kantor spoke to students Wednesday night in the Florida Gym as part of Accent Speaker Bureau's final event of the semester. The New York Times investigative reporter was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her story uncovering Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse in the entertainment industry as well as being named one of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2018.</p>

Award-winning journalist and author Jodi Kantor spoke to students Wednesday night in the Florida Gym as part of Accent Speaker Bureau's final event of the semester. The New York Times investigative reporter was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her story uncovering Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse in the entertainment industry as well as being named one of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2018.

UF students have mixed feelings or haven’t seen the change promised by the outing of common-place sexual harassment made just a year ago. 

On Oct. 5, 2017, The New York Times published an article revealing that producer Harvey Weinstein had been paying for the silence of those who accused him of sexual assault.

Since the publication of the piece, countless people have come forward with their accounts of sexual abuse. Prominent figures who were accused alongside Weinstein include former NBC “Today Show” morning host Matt Lauer, U.S. Sen. Al Franken, comedian Louis C.K. and President Donald Trump.

“In Hollywood, in academia, basically in every field of living, it’s just a huge problem everywhere,” Seth Piatek, a 21-year-old UF political science and family, youth and community sciences junior, said.

The movement has left Piatek with mixed emotions. He said it is disheartening to see how pervasive the matter is, regardless of gender. 

“It’s very empowering to watch women and men like Terry Crews come out and speak about their experiences,” Piatek said.

The anniversary of the article’s publication occurring around the same time as the Kavanaugh hearings is ironic, said Irfan Kovankaya, a 21-year-old UF political science junior. The movement’s prominence a year later indicates the persistence of the issue.

Kovankaya said he can talk about this movement differently than women because he personally does not face what some women face in today’s society.

“I do speak with a certain sense of privilege where no matter what where I’ll understand on a logical perspective how it feels,” Kovankaya said. “But on an emotional one, I’ll never understand.”

The allegations and controversies that have occurred in the past year created mixed feelings, said Savannah Hall, an 18-year-old animal sciences junior. 

“On one hand, if these things happen you definitely need to come forward, but if it was 30-plus years ago, I don’t necessarily think that’s fair because a lot of people’s lives are ruined about it and it’s subjective,” she said.

The movement’s momentum starting now rather than later is important, 19-year-old UF biology sophomore Jenna Jaeger said.  

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Down the road, Jaeger hopes that what has happened this past year will inspire others to continue sharing their stories.

“Fifty years into the future, they can say that it started and people became more truthful about what happened to them,” Jaeger said. 

Contact Dana Cassidy at dcassidy@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @danacassidy_

Award-winning journalist and author Jodi Kantor spoke to students Wednesday night in the Florida Gym as part of Accent Speaker Bureau's final event of the semester. The New York Times investigative reporter was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her story uncovering Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse in the entertainment industry as well as being named one of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2018.

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