The battle over the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh reached fever pitch when allegations of a sexual assault came to light nearly two weeks ago.
At the center of the maelstrom is a Palo Alto professor by the name of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
And for a time, Ford was a Malibu resident; she attended Pepperdine University in 1991 and received a master’s degree in clinical psychology. She later taught at the university between 1995 and 1998.
During this time, she dated fellow Pepperdine student Brian Merrick, who is part of one of Malibu’s founding families as the youngest son of the late Judge John Merrick.
The two dated for eight years, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. During their relationship, Merrick stated Ford had never mentioned the assault.
“It strikes me as odd it never came up in our relationship. But I would never try to discredit what she says or what she believes,” he said to the publication.
Merrick declined a request to be interviewed for this story, stating that it has been a difficult time for him and his family.
“I found her to be a very competent individual. I liked her as a person. I thought she was a person of integrity,” Cindy Miller-Perrin, a distinguished professor of psychology at Pepperdine, said in a story published in the Pepperdine Graphic.
For Pepperdine alumna Laura Reisert, the article describing Ford’s stint at the university called her to action.
“I actually, funny enough, read about it in the Graphic, from my newsfeed on Facebook,” she said, adding, “I didn’t realize the Pepperdine affiliations.”
Reisert then made a post on social media, drawing a comparison between Ford and Anita Hill, an advisor to now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who accused him of sexual harassment during his confirmation hearings in 1991. Her testimony did not go anywhere.
“Women of Pepperdine. Did you know that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is an alumna? The women of her high school alma mater are rallying around her. I’d love to help organize an effort for her Pepperdine sisters [to] show our support. If you believe Christine, just as many believed Anita [Hill], I’d love your wisdom. What can we do to publicly stand with her?”
The post shared a link to standwithblaseyford.com, a public letter written by Holton-Arms School—where Ford attended high school—alumnae in support of their fellow classmate.
Reisert, with help from her classmate Elyse Peterson, started an initial online group, which currently has 104 members—with women as well as men (“allies,” as Reisert calls them, who are screened before given approval). Though made up of alumni, the group is unaffiliated with the university, which has not yet reached out to Reisert.
Their efforts culminated in the form of a petition on Change.org, signed by the “Women and Allies Voicing Empowerment and Support (W.A.V.E.S.) for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and survivors like her everywhere.” As of Tuesday evening, the petition had 284 signatures; many commented with support for Ford and their class year at Pepperdine.
Ford’s name and story made national news after a Washington Post investigation detailed Ford’s account of a summer incident in the 1980s, when she was a high schooler in Bethesda, Md.
The Post reported Kavanaugh and his friend cornered Ford into a bedroom, where the former proceeded to lock the door, pin her down, grope her, attempt to take off her clothing and subdue her with a hand over her mouth when she attempted to scream.
The friend allegedly jumped on them, which allowed Ford to run to the bathroom and lock herself in. Once the boys left, she was able to leave the house.
Through California State Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, Ford originally sent the information in a confidential letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, who referred the letter to the FBI. Ford did not plan to come forward publicly initially, but leaks forced her to reconsider.
“Now I feel like my civic responsibility is outweighing my anguish and terror about retaliation,” she said to the Post.
What followed next was a mixed response. Echoing the #MeToo movement, many around the country spoke out in support of Ford and even held a walkout on Sept. 24 to support Kavanaugh accusers. Since then, at least one other allegation has surfaced—a classmate of Kavanaugh’s from Yale, Deborah Ramirez, came forward with a sexual assault allegation on Sunday.
Others are not convinced, calling it—as the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell puts it—a “smear campaign” orchestrated by the Democratic leadership.
Pepperdine itself is known for its conservative values as a Christian university.
“Even if we have differing political perspectives, I believe there is a deep regard for the truth and for inquiry,” Reisert said. “Even though I certainly fall more on the liberal side of the spectrum, what makes me really proud [is that] people were willing to lay those differences aside and say that women and their truths matter.”
She then mentioned Pepperdine’s own affirmation statement, which, in part, reads: “That truth, having nothing to fear from investigation, should be pursued relentlessly in every discipline.”
Overall, she hopes to “really encourage” Ford.
“It takes tremendous courage for a woman to come forward with this type of story,” Reisert stated, and later added: “ … at this school, even though it may have a reputation of being a bit more conservative, there are people who are aligned with her and are there to support her.”
