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SALT LAKE CITY — University of Utah students gathered around a TV in the middle of a food court Thursday, captivated by the contentious hearings playing out in Washington, D.C.
Some stopped just long enough to watch while eating lunch, while others remained in the A. Ray Olpin University Union for hours watching Christine Blasey Ford answer questions about an alleged sexual assault by U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when the two were in high school together.
Sara Matlock, a sophomore studying political science, said she was impressed by how strong Ford has been through the process of going public with the accusation.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during the hearing that other senators had been focusing heavily on what Ford didn't remember from the alleged incident over 30 years ago. So instead, she asked, "Can you tell us what you don't forget about that night?"
Ford listed various parts of the furniture and the home's layout where she said Kavanaugh, then 17 years old, sexually assaulted her during a party.
But most of all, she said, "the laughter. The uproarious laughter."
Matlock said Ford's recollection of Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge laughing as they allegedly attacked her stuck out to her as she watched the hearing.
"The most striking statement was about the laughter," she said. "That really characterizes the circumstance, and the whole 'boys will be boys' mentality, which is so harmful."
Matlock said she hopes people will take the accusation and the judiciary process seriously.
"This happened to her," she said. She hopes people will "listen to the full story, and not just the rhetoric surrounding it."
She "absolutely" believes Ford, she said.
And although she doesn't believe Ford's accusation is politically motivated, she believes responses from politicians on both sides have been.
Austin Terrazas, a junior studying strategic communication, voiced the same thoughts.
"I've only heard one side of the story so far," he said. "But from what I can tell, it doesn't seem like she's making anything up. … I have no reason to believe that this is some sort of politically motivated attack."
Nicholas Cockrell, a history and political science senior, said he finds the allegations disgusting and sad, and wished the committee would not rush through the approval process.
"It's frustrating that we have to deal with allegations in this way for these essential positions in our national government," he said.
Senior journalism student David Skorut agreed.
"I feel like that's not enough time," he said. "And for a lifelong appointment, the thing we need most is time, to make sure (the committee is) making a good choice."
Cockrell said he hopes the response would be different if the roles were reversed — if a politically conservative woman were accusing a Democratic Supreme Court nominee of a similar assault.
"Unfortunately I think in today's climate, a Republican is generally less likely to believe this type of accusation against Judge Kavanaugh than a Democrat is," Cockrell said. "I would hope that that wouldn't happen if the roles in the parties were switched."
Skorut said he believes things would be different if the roles were switched.
"It seems as though there is more accountability on the left against people on their own side," Skorut said, citing former Democratic Sen. Al Franken's resignation.
Matlock said she believes Democrats are more likely than Republicans to believe sexual assault allegations, and that political leaders' decisions to side with Ford or Kavanaugh are based more on gender than political party.
"I don't think that it has to do with the party of Brett Kavanaugh," Matlock said. "I think it has to do with the party tone toward the #MeToo movement as a whole."
