Lehmanites Link Harvey Weinstein's Conviction to Me Too Movement

(Photo Credit: Scott Heins/Getty Images)

By Sally Barrilla

Members of the Lehman community praised the March 11 verdict that sentenced Harvey Weinstein to 23 years in prison. Many credited it to the power of the #MeToo movement, while a few questioned why women only reported their abuse long afterwards.

On Feb. 24, the former film producer was found guilty of two out of five charges: committing a first-degree unlawful sex act with two women, Miriam Haley, a formerly known production assistant on “Project Runaway,” and Jessica Mann, an aspiring actress, and felony rape in New York, CNBC reported.

“I feel like there are many cases like Harvey Weinstein’s that probably aren’t talked about and that’s unfortunate,” said film and television studies senior and Lehman’s Film Club president Asia Brooks. “I’m okay with the results, but I still find the punishment for sexual assault and rape isn’t nearly what it should be,” she said.

English Professor Allison Amend agreed. “Weinstein knew what he was doing; those kinds of assaults almost never get reported.”

Sara Miranda, 60, accounting Lehman 1992 alumni also praised the verdict. “Many women have come forward, back then, women were exploited and not taken seriously, and many couldn’t say anything. He needs to pay for what he did. ”

Weinstein was exonerated from one count of first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault involving Mann and Haley due to the fact that the jury initially did not find “forcible compulsion” necessary for the first-degree rape charge, as reported by Insider.

The Daily Mail disclosed that Weinstein will not be eligible for parole for the next 23 years. His lawyer Donna Rotunno said she will file an appeal in July because she believes the trial was “totally unfair” to her client.

Many students felt the verdict confirmed the power of the Me Too movement. Brooks feels that the Weinstein case has helped diminish the remaining power that men have over women.

“I believe the Me Too movement is extremely important as a woman’s rights should not go unrecognized and women stand strong together,” she said.

Amend agreed. “I would like to think this verdict has had an impact on the Me Too movement,” she said. “It shows how it’s possible for women to get justice. The fact that he was convicted on criminal charges in the kind of case that didn’t used to be prosecuted.”

According to The New York Times, the Me Too movement caused more than 200 men to be fired from their jobs that 54 women and 70 men took over the positions, in total, 124 job replacements across the nation.

The Me Too movement has successfully resulted in seven convictions for four influential figures, including former actor and comedian Bill Cosby and French photographer Jean-Claude Arnault, as reported by Axios.

Some Lehmanites questioned the timing.

“It bothers me that so many women have decided to speak up now, although he was extremely wrong,” said Maribel Areas, a nursing freshman. “Why did so many women wait long to accuse him, especially now that he’s older and in a wheelchair? Many American women know their rights, they could have said what happened before, and now is when they do.”

These verdicts are not Weinstein’s first time being called to account. He was first accused by actresses including Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan back in October 2017, as reported by BBC.

Andrew Lopez, computer information junior, also questioned the validity of some women’s accounts. “A lot of men say they are scared to sit next to women because of this; there have been occurrences in which women have falsely accused men,” he said.

However, Lopez also feels women constantly experience sexual harassment, the majority of the time from a higher authority, and he called Weinstein’s conviction a “small victory for women”.