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Yale Law school graffitied with Christine Blasey Ford's testimony against Brett Kavanaugh

'I think a lot of female students feel very fundamentally betrayed'

Andrew Buncombe
Washington DC
Tuesday 23 October 2018 19:29 BST
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Christine Blasey Ford says she remembers 'uproarious laughter' of alleged attackers

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Some of the powerful senate testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, has appeared in the form of graffiti posted at the university where the judge studied.

Pictures posted on social media of the Sterling Law building at Yale University’s campus in New Haven, Connecticut, showed graffiti on the entryway that read: “Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter…”.

The words were taken from Ms Ford’s testimony last month before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was considering Donald Trump’s nomination for the Supreme Court. Ms Ford was among at least three women to accuse the judge of sexual misconduct or sexual assault. He denied all the allegations.

In one part of her testimony, Ms Ford, an academic from California who said Mr Kavanaugh had tried to remove her clothes at a high school party three decades ago, was asked by Democratic senator Patrick Leahy to recall her most striking memory of the alleged incident.

“Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two, and their having fun at my expense,” said Ms Ford, a research psychologist, referring to the part of the human brain believed responsible for dealing with emotion and memory.”

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“I was underneath one of them while the two laughed. Two friends having a really good time with one another.”

Mr Kavanaugh was also accused by a fellow Yale student, Deborah Ramirez, of exposing himself to her and forcing his penis in front of his face, during a drunken dormitory party. He also denied that had taken place.

While Ms Ford’s testimony moved many who watched it, the committee voted 11-10 on party lines to move forward to a full vote in the senate. After a brief delay during which the FBI carried out another background check on Mr Kavanaugh and senators judged there was nothing to stop his nomination moving forward, he was confirmed 50 - 48.

Ms Ford’s lawyers did not immediately respond to enquiries on Tuesday. Yale University also did not answer questions. Reports suggest the graffiti, first reported by HuffPost, was removed by university staff on Monday afternoon.

One of the students who photographed the graffiti, told the news site: “Something about the permanence of paint speaks to how deeply betrayed and disappointed people feel."

She added: “There’s still a lot of anger and disappointment in the halls of [Yale Law]. I think in particular, a lot of female students feel very fundamentally betrayed. But also very determined to change things for the better.”

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