Students’ reflections tied to Kavanaugh hearings make NewsHour segment

On October 7th, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh following intense partisan debate, including allegations of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were both in high school, and others who came forward with claims.

The debate sparked a conversation in our newsroom about whether the choices one makes as a teenager should have consequences later in life. We reached out to our network of SRL correspondents to see if there was a connection between an individual’s past and present, and asked them to interview their classmates for different perspectives on this topic. Students submitted nearly 100 interviews to SRL headquarters, some of which were newsworthy enough to be shared on PBS NewsHour’s national social media platforms and air on the NewsHour evening broadcast.

Their comments included  thoughts on the unique circumstances today’s youth live under, where the internet and social media enable information about one’s conduct to reach more people than ever before and live on in perpetuity. Students were more divided on the matter of what types of actions taken as a teenager should carry consequences into adulthood.

 

NewsHour Extra Lessons:

Teaching Moment: Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh 

Students on accountability and fairness in response to Kavanaugh hearings 

#MonitoringTheMidterms: FBI investigation into Kavanaugh wraps up