Tensions reached a breaking point as the polarized halves of the nation squared off in a landmark case that has significant implications for women and sexual misconduct. Brett Kavanaugh was nominated for the Supreme Court, but the progress of his confirmation  proceedings were temporarily slowed because of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee. Kavanaugh allegedly held down Ford and attempted to disrobe her when they were teenagers at a house party.

Senior Naomi Brady views the Kavanaugh proceedings as a woman and from a more liberal approach. Brady consumes her news through many major diverse broadcasts but also has some non-traditional forms of journalism that she follows as well.

“I’m like 55 years old, so I watch CBS, CNN, the 10 p.m. news, and typical millennial things like Snapchat,” Brady said. “New York Times and the Washington Post are relatively unbiased, [but] CNN sometimes is a little biased.

Senior Garret Inman has a more conservative perspective on the allegations, so he was more concerned with Kavanaugh’s guilt or innocence instead of the implications this case might have for women. Inman does not regularly follow mainstream broadcast programs. Instead, he chooses a more personal approach.

“I mainly get my news from [YouTuber] Philip DeFranco, [and] I would say Philip DeFranco is not unbiased per say, but he makes known his bias,¨ Inman said. ¨He gives his opinion, but encourages other to have their own opinions.

Brady feels disconnected from the ¨New America¨ under the presidency of Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress.

“I think that the allegations were criticized quickly [and] pushed to the side way too quickly,” Brady said. “As a victim comes forth with those types of allegations, they should definitely be investigated. It’s not okay for people to immediately criticize her. You can do whatever you want, disrespect whatever you want, not care about how you treat other people and still serve for life as a Supreme Court Justice.”

In contrast, Inman believes that Kavanaugh should not be punished and  does not think there is any solid evidence to prove the allegations of sexual assault. He also doubts the relevance of the crime if it would be considered a misdemeanor.

¨If the FBI couldn’t find anything, I think it’s safe to say she was lying,¨ Inman said. ¨If it’s not something you get jail time for, then it shouldn’t be relevant because he was a teenager.¨

Brady, however, doubts the validity of the Kavanaugh proceedings because of the bias of the president and Republicans in Congress. Kavanaugh’s hearing just proved this bias to Brady.

“I think the best way to conduct the investigation would be to hear her side completely to hear his side completely,¨ Brady said. ¨She went through the entire night, but he ended up just defending himself.”

Inman thinks that any bias in the FBI investigation would actually serve the interests of the Democratic party. He does not support any preemptive removal of the Supreme court nominee with a lack of evidence.

¨To prove his guilt, I’d need someone filming at the party or someone seeing him drop a pill in a drink or taking a drunk girl into a room,¨ Inman said. ¨I wouldn’t say the FBI is in Trump’s corner, and this is his nominee. I think they were as thorough as they could be, and if there was any evidence, then it’d be easy to find. I don’t think they should replace him, because if you give someone a foot they’ll take a mile.¨

Brady doesn’t think that the credibility of Christine Blasey Ford should be so scrutinized because of the implications this case could have for women.

¨I think it’s hard to establish a degree of credibility for someone in that situation, [and] we can never actually know what happened,” Brady said. “You can only trust what they say. “You trust the victim first, hear their story, and use that for evidence. It shouldn’t take that much [to deny him his position].¨

Inman counters that the credibility of Ford is crucial to the charges against Kavanaugh because of the effects this could have on the future of media transparency and due process.

¨I wouldn’t say she’s very credible,” Inman said. “She said she couldn’t remember much of what happened or the events surrounding. The courts called people that had been at those parties, and only one person said that he did it, and that witness was inconsistent with her testimonies and claimed Kavanaugh was involved in gang rapes. It definitely needs corroborating evidence, I don’t care what political party you are. There needs to be corroborating evidence in order for me to look at that person in a different light.¨

Brady does not think a crime of this nature is forgivable, and his position should not be given to him under any circumstances.

¨I think it would definitely help in the political view of all of America if he confessed and showed remorse, but me as a woman, I would not support him being in the Supreme Court,¨ Brady said.

Inman thinks there is a nuance to the relevance of this crime, and his remorse would absolve him depending on the severity of the crime.

¨If it was an illegal act that required jail time for penance, I would not support him getting into the Supreme Court, but if he did show remorse it would humanize him a little bit.¨ Inman said.

Brady contends that the reaction to the accusations are representative of the political climate of America.

¨When someone comes out claiming that someone else inappropriately touched them, you shouldn’t automatically say, “Well this is the Democrats coming in, this is the typical liberal move,’¨ Brady said. ¨I don’t think they should jump and tell her just because she’s a liberal and she’s coming out with these accusations, that she is a pawn for the Democrats.¨

Inman solidifies his claims that Kavanaugh deserves a fair trial and that no one should be condemned before proven to be guilty, especially not by the media.

¨I say innocent until proven guilty, because if you assume a person accused is guilty 100% of the time, that damages the way you view people, and if they’re proven innocent then you’ll hold all of this hate towards someone who didn’t do anything,¨ Inman said. ¨If you assume innocent until proven guilty it allows you to take in more information.¨

Brady trusts Ford’s story and implores people to not be too quick to discredit a witness, when the position Kavanaugh might hold is critical to the future of democracy.

“I think you should definitely always trust the accuser because, what merit do you have to tell this person they’re wrong and she’s coming out before all of America,” Brady said. “She’s being judged by every single person that’s seeing this. You have no reason to accuse her of lying.”

However, Inman discourages people people from trusting every rumor because of the people’s lives at risk and the lack of accountability for the spoken word.

“Allegations can be made by anyone about anything,” Inman said.