Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was invited to teach a course on the religious clauses of the First Amendment at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Photo: David Handschuh/ALM.

When the University of Florida Levin College of Law announced that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas would be teaching a compressed course on the religious clauses of the First Amendment in spring 2020, one group of law students had something to say.

Student newspaper The Independent Florida Alligator ran a letter to the editor Tuesday from a new advocacy group called We Believe Survivors. The letter asked school administrators to "explain how the celebration of Clarence Thomas' presence on campus will help the effort to address the culture at UF that has led to an increase in campus sexual assault."

Thomas' 1991 confirmation hearing was marred by sexual-harassment allegations by former colleague Anita Hill. UF too has had its own troubles, with reports of on-campus sexual assault and harassment increasing in recent years, according to a survey showing that nearly half of 6,561 respondents reported experiencing some form of harassment.

Thomas did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the students' opposition.

'Who is Anita Hill?'

One of the group's members, second-year law student Dalia Figueredo, said she wasn't surprised to hear that Thomas was coming to campus since he's visited previously and taught a property rights course with professor Michael Allan Wolf.

But Figueredo said she and her peers found it hard to square her university's response to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing in 2018 with its decision to invite Thomas.

"Professors canceled class, the testimony was displayed on every TV monitor at the law school, and Dean [Laura] Rosenbury sent out an email letting us know that she knew this confirmation hearing was going to cause a lot of different reactions, especially for students who may have been survivors of sexual assault or sexual harassment," Figueredo said. "I remember thinking that was the right step, but I wondered how they were going to reconcile that reaction with Justice Thomas possibly coming to campus again."

Figueredo said many students who closely followed Kavanaugh's hearing are now asking, "Who is Anita Hill?" since the controversial hearing predates their birth.

"We just want to make sure that people know who she is and the struggle that she faced in the '90s," Figueredo said.

Hill alleged Thomas had harassed her by inappropriately discussing sexual acts and pornographic films. Thomas denied all the allegations.

Figueredo said this isn't about putting Thomas on trial.

"It's about holding our administration accountable and for them to acknowledge the concerns students may have," Figueredo said, later adding, "Understandably, people are pretty excited about a justice being at our school and what that means, and having access to somebody who's an important figure."

'Will we be treated like Hill?'

The group's letter called upon Rosenbury and UF President Kent Fuchs, who recently tweeted that an Alligator column spotlighting the results of a 2019 sexual harassment survey was "not good news."

"If we come forward, will we be treated like Hill?" the letter said. "Will we be ignored while our abusers are paraded as esteemed guests at our law school? Does Levin really believe survivors? Or do we only believe survivors when their abusers aren't powerful?"

Rosenbury said she only learned about the group Wednesday morning but supports all student advocacy.

"We are a diverse law school, and our students, faculty and staff care deeply about a range of issues," Rosenbury said. "We encourage all of our students to become effective advocates, whether through student groups or other means."

But it's about accountability, the way Figueredo sees it, as she'd hoped her university would have first told students about the idea of inviting Thomas.

"Our administration is here to serve us, and I think it's very important to question what kind of message law school is sending to potential survivors of assault or harassment when they invite someone who has been credibly accused to campus," Figueredo said.

We Believe Survivors comprises second- and third-year law students. It has created social media accounts and will be holding town hall meetings next week to show portions of Hill's testimony, and hold a discussion about ongoing advocacy.

This comes as a documentary about Thomas, "Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words," is slated to air in May 2020 on PBS. In it, the usually quiet justice opens up about faith, politics, race and his judicial philosophy, according to previews.

 

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