Kavanaugh supporters rallying last week at the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Tyrone Turner / WAMU)

The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has been increasingly contentious amid allegations of sexual assault. And members of the Senate aren’t the only ones grappling with their feelings about the judge.

Some of the alleged incidents took place during Kavanaugh’s high school years in the region, which has prompted conversations around consent and school policies around reporting and dealing with sexual assault. These issues are not relegated to the 1980s—late last month, a D.C. Public Schools principal was placed on leave for mocking a student who reported a sexual assault that allegedly occurred on school grounds.

This larger discussion has also put the tweets and comments of local education leaders in the spotlight. For several educators and education leaders, issuing their perceived support of Kavanaugh or denigrating his accusers has had varying consequences.

Catholic University suspended William Rainford, the dean of its social work school, after he tweeted that Julie Swetnick, one of the women accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault, should be considered a perpetrator instead of the victim. Members of the student body planned a protest and called for his resignation.

Rainford deleted the tweet, which was sent from an account handle associated with the university, and apologized. Catholic University President John Garvey announced Rainford’s suspension for the rest of the semester, while saying that “it is my desire that he continue to lead the school.”

A woman running unopposed to be the president of Langley Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Association garnered competition, and a national audience, after she tweeted about the Kavanaugh hearings. D.C. activist Jessica Raven, the mother of a Langley student, entered the race after she said she saw the woman tweeting in support of Kavanaugh. The woman, who spoke to the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity, said the tweets were ““a reflection of stories covered and issues being discussed,” and not indicative of whether she was a Kavanaugh booster.

Meanwhile, one D.C. State Board of Education member has been firing off tweets that are unambiguously pro-Kavanaugh.

Ashley MacLeay was voted into the at-large seat, a citywide position, in November 2016 as a Republican and Trump supporter (she was Ashley Carter then on the ballot—she’s since gotten married).

The D.C. State Board of Education’s role changed when the mayor’s office took control of the public school system in 2007, and it now largely approves or disapproves policies introduced by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. During her day job, MacLeay is the director for Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative nonprofit that has been lobbying on behalf of Kavanaugh in the Senate.

MacLeay’s Twitter account associated with the SBOE has been mum on the issue of Kavanaugh. But on her personal handle, @ACMacLeay, she has sounded off on the topic.

One tweet, which she appears to have deleted after DCist emailed her about it, made a similar point to the one that got Rainford suspended.

Screenshot via Twitter.

Another post included the hashtag #WhatElseDidBrettDo, which sought to downplay media accounts of misbehavior by Kavanaugh during his high school and college days.

Screenshot via Twitter.

One Twitter user responded, “When do I get to vote against her? Hey @ACMacLeay , are you up for reelection in November?”. (She’s not.) Another wrote, “He also sexually assaulted multiple women. Hope this clears things up for you!”

MacLeay declined to answer specific questions about her tweets or whether she stood by the same sentiment that resulted in Rainford’s suspension, and instead provided DCist with an emailed statement.

“I take seriously any and all allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse, however, the media’s reporting of a Supreme Court nominee throwing ice in a bar in 1985 in regards to his fitness to serve shows how ridiculous this process has become,” MacLeay said.

“I, like many in D.C. and across the nation, believe Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination has become a referendum on the basic principle of innocent until proven guilty and it’s setting a dangerous precedent on due process. In light of the FBI investigation finding no corroborating evidence to support Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony, I firmly support Judge Brett Kavanaugh and look forward seeing a Senate vote on his nomination and hopefully a confirmation.”

But it’s not just tweets in favor of Kavanaugh that are drawing attention.

Georgetown Professor C. Christine Fair wrote in a since-deleted tweet about responses to Kavanaugh’s most recently Senate testimony, “Look at [this] chorus of entitled white men justifying a serial rapist’s arrogated entitlement. All of them deserve miserable deaths while feminists laugh as they take their last gasps. Bonus: we castrate their corpses and feed them to swine? Yes.”

As the post garnered attention from rightwing media outlets, including mention on Fox News, Georgetown President John J. DeGioia released a statement that did not name Fair but appeared motivated by her.

“We protect the right of our community members to exercise their freedom of expression,” said DeGiola. “This does not mean the University endorses the content of their expression. We can and do strongly condemn the use of violent imagery, profanity, and insensitive labeling of individuals based on gender, ethnicity or political affiliation in any form of discourse.”

Fair, who confronted white nationalist Richard Spencer at her Alexandria gym in 2017, wrote a blog post in late September about calls for her to tone down her language.

“I will not discipline my voice, my words, or my body,” Fair wrote. “I will refuse to conform to your rules which are designed to constrain me like a corset for your convenience and comfort.”

The Hoya, Georgetown’s student-run newspaper, reported on Friday evening that Fair is headed on research leave, effective immediately.

This post has been updated with news about Fair going on research leave.