Thoughts of a Young Feminist ... by Amy Nix

"During my flight to D.C., I actually began to question why someone from Alabama, who is gay, should be spending a week on Capitol Hill asking senators to vote against Judge Alito. But after the first day there, I realized these rights, fought so hard for by previous generations of women, were all I had. I could not afford to let them go without voicing my desire to the senators to protect them.

It was a little disheartening when I realized my own state senators did not care about the rights of young women in their state. Yet every time we came together in the campaign headquarters for the morning or afternoon briefing, a sense of renewal would occur.

To stand beside the women who fought so hard for so many years to give us these rights was amazing, and it's a feeling I will always carry with me when continuing to fight for women's rights."

-Amy Nix, University of Alabama

"Unsure of what to expect, I walk into the Senate Hart office building, armed not only with a half-dozen 'No On Alito' stickers strategically placed on my clothes and tote bag, but also names, dates and details about Alito's disturbing judicial record. Earlier that morning, at the headquarters of the Freedom Winter '06 campaign, I sat among more than 100 other student activists as Kim Gandy and Ellie Smeal led an in-depth discussion of Alito's history.

As the conversation started to wrap up, the excitement in the room became tangible; we knew that we were only minutes away from packing up our things and, for the first time, entering the senate building. I was preparing not to join in a protest or make a phone call, but to actually walk into senators' offices to voice my opinion.

Later, as I stood in the lobby of the building, I was awed, knowing that many of the people who make social and economic change in our country are at work just a few floors above where I stood.

My excitement waxed and waned for the next several hours as reactions from senators' offices varied. Making an appointment with even a clerk was made impossible in certain offices as some receptionists brushed myself and three other activists away, giving us no hint as to when someone would be available to speak with us. One receptionist of a Republican senator even scoffed at us when we asked to see the aide in charge of women's issues or civil liberties, proclaiming that they did not even have a constituent liaison for such areas. I refused to let these setbacks discourage me, however, and remained determined to meet with someone before the day was out. My persistence quickly paid off when three other activists and I had the opportunity to speak with Kathleen Hatfield, legislative counsel for Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.).

For nearly an hour Ms. Hatfield engaged us in conversation about Byrd's voting record and spoke candidly about the factors that the senator would ultimately use to make his decision on the Alito nomination. She intently listened to fears we expressed and took notes on specific concerns we cited. Ms. Hatfield was not only straightforward and honest with us, but encouraged us to continue lobbying in the Senate and fighting for causes we believe in."

-Rena Fried, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire