Say Her Name, Hamilton: Stand with Charlotte Bennett
By Lelan O’Brien ’23, Staff Writer
On March 25th, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York issued an executive order mandating COVID-19 positive patients be released into the residences of the most vulnerable communities in NY, nursing homes. From what we know now, over 15,000 New York senior citizens died from COVID-19, marking the highest number of nursing home deaths of any state in the country. Many families of the late seniors point to that March 25th order as to why they no longer have their loved ones. Cuomo tried to cover this up, only reporting half of these deaths, only to be outed by his own secretary and Attorney General, sparking the FBI to investigate the, as one advocate puts it, “massacre” he caused. There are now bipartisan calls for his resignation, calls that I wholeheartedly endorse. However, as if New Yorkers needed another reason to “Kick the Crown” that is Governor Cuomo, at the time of this writing, he has also now been accused of sexual harassment by three women. One of those women is one of our own alumni, Charlotte Bennett ’17.
When I first read the article detailing Bennett’s story in The New York Times, I was disgusted and ashamed of my Governor, but most importantly felt terrible that this had happened to Bennett. Then, when I read that this very hill is where she called home for four years, my heart broke even more that she had to experience this. Cuomo made multiple sexual innuendos towards Bennett, all of which she documented and was harassment that she reported to colleagues. The woman who preceded Bennett in exposing Cuomo’s misconduct, Lindsey Boylan, said he made several unwanted sexual advances towards her, including a forced kiss. Additionally, the woman to come out after Bennett, Anna Ruch, recounts a similar story. This implies a pattern of sexist, predatory, and perverted behavior from a man who has failed our State for years including most recently being responsible for a “massacre” of our senior citizens. Yet, we hardworking New Yorkers still pay for the food he eats, the home he lives in, and the car he drives.
Luckily the Attorney General of New York now has complete control over an independent investigation into these accusations, including subpoena power. This was approved by the Governor only after he took an entire day to produce a pathetic statement in which he did not even apologize for his actions, and after he had tried almost every avenue he could to limit the reach of the investigation. In the words of Bennett herself, “These are not the actions of someone who simply feels misunderstood; they are the actions of an individual who wields his power to avoid justice.”
Moving forward, it’s refreshing to see such bipartisan calls for his resignation and an independent investigation, but I am also taking many statements by politicians with a grain of salt. I do wonder where Republicans were when they were silent when it came to former President Trump’s 20+ accusers, Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers, and the newly surfacing accusations against freshman Congressman Madison Cawthorn (R-NC). They have been so quick to call for Cuomo’s resignation when they have continuously peddled calls for “due process” for members of their own party, as they turned a cold shoulder to women like Christine Blasey Ford. On the Democratic side, it has been extremely refreshing to see the calls for resignation come from Democratic State Representatives, especially when it comes to the nursing home scandal. However, I tend to scoff at criticism from Democrats like Mayor Bill DeBlasio, given his previous power struggles with the governor that make the mayor’s current criticism seem as though he is just happy to see his Albany counterpart failing. All of this politics is just taking away from the victims who really matter: Boylan, Bennett and Ruch.
The face of one of our own, plastered all over cable news and newspapers, yet I have to find out that she is a Hamilton alumni from my own personal reading this past Sunday? The Hamilton Democrats who have been silent when it comes to Cuomo’s nursing home policy, waited for over an entire day for the go ahead from the NY College Democrats to call for his resignation, only through a mere retweet. Why wait so long? Where is the campus-wide email? Where are the public statements of support from the Student Assembly, the Days-Massolo Center, and so many more organizations that could raise awareness and stand in support of Bennett? Or maybe even any statement of support from the College’s administration?
Bennett should be an alumnus the College lifts up due to her extremely successful career thus far. You can read about her background here, but the fact that one of our recent graduates held such a high-level position in the New York State government during this unprecedented crisis is extraordinary. We also should be proud of Bennett’s efforts to make our campus and community a better place. Bennett founded the Sexual Misconduct and Assault Reform Task-Force (SMART) here at Hamilton and as a survivor of a sexual attack, she was a fierce advocate for women who have experienced sexual assault or harassment. In October of 2016, Bennett’s advocacy on campus had included hanging posters around campus that raised serious questions about how Hamilton handles cases of sexual misconduct, an issue that continues to plague our campus today. In 2019, after the administration took major heat for improperly handling what was done in response to the discovery of Date Rape drugs used at parties Hamilton students attended, Bennett took to Twitter and applauded the protests that took place outside of President Wippman’s office. She also said in that same tweet that in 2017 she had told her own survival story of sexual assault to David Wippman and he “laughed in her face.” Guess I won’t be holding my breath for a statement of support from the administration. In fact, I think it’s something Bennett wouldn’t even be interested in receiving; it would only seem tone-deaf, fake, and four years too late.
Charlotte and Governor Cuomo’s two other accusers deserve justice. The families of the thousands of senior citizens who have died as a direct result of his poor legislation and subsequent cover-up deserve justice. New Yorkers who pay taxes that go directly into Cuomo’s pocket deserve justice. Born and raised New Yorkers like me deserve justice. We demand justice in the form of a recall or resignation. We all deserve more than a sexual predator in the Governor’s mansion representing us. New York is better than this, and in Cuomo’s own words, we are “New York tough.” Unfortunately for him, some of us just happen to be as tough as one of Hamilton’s own, Charlotte Bennett. #SayHerNameHamilton #IStandWithCharlotte
