Davis Rich| Co-News Editor

Jackson Katz, an anti-sexist activist, spoke yesterday at assembly, educating the Menlo community in regards to the apparent gender and racial inequalities that plague our society. Katz spoke to parents earlier in the week as part of the Common Ground speaker series, and his visit to Menlo was one of hundreds he has made to schools across the country over the past two decades. Instead of focusing on women as victims of violence, which our culture tends to do, Katz encouraged the community to not only acknowledge men as perpetrators but also to focus on bystanders to violence. Katz said that bystanders must challenge violence in order to stop it at its source.

Katz, who has made several documentaries, used clips of some of his films to illustrate his points while sharing various anecdotes and analogies with the Menlo community. Menlo students seemed to appreciate the sentiments Katz expressed. “I agree with everything that Mr. Katz had to say, and I hope that large amounts of people get to hear about his message,” sophomore Sarah Rantz said. “The only issue was that Mr. Katz primarily explained the issue of gender equality and sexism rather than offering us young adults the tools to fight sexism.” Katz’s presentation undoubtedly provoked new thoughts in many student’s minds and hopefully will encourage them to be sensitive to gender and race issues in the future.