Georgetown Preparatory School, the high school alma mater of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, condemned media outlets Wednesday, singling out the Washington Post and New York Times, for publishing articles about their school without seeking comment from the North Bethesda, Md., academic institution.
Kavanaugh faces allegations of sexual misconduct from several women. Two of the accusations are related to Kavanaugh’s behavior as a high school student in the early 1980s.
“The image that has been presented on social media and in various news outlets depicts recklessness, illegal conduct, and lack of respect for persons,” Georgetown Prep said in a statement Wednesday. “Worse, many blame these faults on institutional indifference.
“But the temptations, and the failings, presented in these stories are not unique to Georgetown Prep,” the statement continued. “The problems and abuses of alcohol and drugs, sexual assault and misconduct, emotional and physical violence toward others are real; educators at every institution of primary, secondary, or higher learning in our nation face these problems every day.”
Claims that such conduct was tolerated or promoted are “demonstrably false,” Georgetown Prep said, adding that the school’s curriculum was intended to prevent students from being subjected to “malignant influences.”
As for “certain individuals” who have recently said they reflect the culture of Georgetown Prep, the statement said their views may represent their experience but not the “institutional or pedagogical goals.”
“It is all too easy to paint malicious stereotypes about a group of people based on assumptions about their gender, ethnicity, or their station in life,” Georgetown Prep said. “Part of our educational foundation is the continued evaluation of everything that we do, personally and institutionally, that we may live most fully the commandment to love God and neighbor.”
While Georgetown Prep admitted that their students were not perfect while in high school and thereafter, the school said that the faculty and staff work to prepare their students for life following graduation to “become men who will embrace the hard lessons and learn from them.”
Julie Swetnick, who graduated from Gaithersburg High School in Maryland and has several active government clearances, came forward Wednesday to claim she saw Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge drink “excessively” and “engage in highly inappropriate conduct” while attending house parties in the Washington, D.C., area in the early 1980s.
Swetnick, a federal official, said the behavior included “being overly aggressive with girls and not taking ‘no’ for an answer.” She also accused Kavanaugh and Judge of being present when she was gang-raped around 1982, and wrote in her affidavit she told at least two other unnamed people of the incident. Swetnick says she was gang-raped at one of these parties and Kavanaugh was present, according to the affidavit which was made public Wednesday morning by her lawyer, Michael Avenatti.
Kavanaugh faces two other sexual misconduct allegations.
Christine Blasey Ford, who is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday along with Kavanaugh, claims Kavanaugh forced himself onto her at a high school party in the 1980s. Her identity was first reported by the Washington Post. Deborah Ramirez also accuses Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her at a college party in the 1980s at Yale University when they were students.
Kavanaugh has rejected all allegations leveled against him. He claimed the most recent allegations were “ridiculous” and denied they ever happened.
“This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone. I don’t know who this is and this never happened,” Kavanaugh said in a statement the White House released Wednesday.
