Blog

What LEGO’s history reveals about gender and shaping identity.

By: Meghan Boudreau, I Have The Right To Intern.

Like many of my peers in my younger years, I loved playing with LEGOs. My little brother and I would spend much of our time in the LEGO store, looking at sets that were way too advanced for our age. One of my favorite models was a toy space destroyer with aliens as part of LEGO’s “Alien Conquest” kit. The design was a cool tripod build that included a face hugger and ugly alien trooper. My brother also participated in what is called the First Robotics LEGO League competition for three years.

By: Patricia Adams, I Have The Right To Org, and Survivors of Sexual Assault 

This past November, when so many students were preparing for a restful Thanksgiving break, a diverse group of high schoolers from around the area and country gathered in Washington, DC for the 9th annual Georgetown Day School (GDS) Summit on Sexual Assault and Consent.  Survivors and community members came together to discuss the very human issues surrounding sexual assault.

By Patricia Adams

I was a couple of months away from 8th grade and my 14th birthday when I first watched Inside Out in a movie theater with my mother and younger sister. I recall appreciating the clever story and being able to picture my own “Family Island” and homes for the activities I cherished most– Ballet Island, Student Leadership Laguna, Church Group Grove.

By Katie M. Shipp
Trib Live
4 min read

As the academic year draws to a close, it’s important to spend some time reflecting on the lessons our children have absorbed over the past school year and the values we hope they will carry with them as they journey forward.

By Karina Elwood
The Washington Post
6 min read

In 2019, seven years after her parents pulled her out of the school, a woman filed a lawsuit alleging that Fairfax County Public Schools failed to provide her with a safe learning environment — a violation of her rights under Title IX, the law that forbids sex discrimination in federally funded schools.

By Finley Muratova
Rewire News Group
8 min read

Campus violence survivors and advocates have fought to restore their civil rights. The Biden administration has left them in limbo.

“One of our activists has this really great line that she says all the time: ‘The justice system fails survivors, the education system fails us all,'” Lillian Frame, a SafeBAE board member, said.

By Asra Q. Nomani 
Fairfax County Times
9 min read

In Courtroom 1000 on the 10th floor of Alexandria’s U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a small battalion of mostly male attorneys for Fairfax County Public Schools officials lined up on Monday against a 24-year-old former student as she sat, composed and professional.

By Adam Barber, McQuaid Jesuit Director of Service and Justice
FortKnight Blog
4 min read

You could hear the proverbial pin drop in the John H. Ryan, Jr. Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday, October 25, 2022. The assembled high school students, faculty, and guests sat in focused silence as Steve Peacock, McQuaid Jesuit alumnus of the class of 1988, shared the story of his journey as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.

By Patricia Adams
4 min read

This week, I had the opportunity to sit down with I Have The Right To board member, Steve Peacock. Steve is a child sexual assault survivor, speaker, and advocate, who has delivered keynote addresses to over 1,000 students, parents, and educators since 2021.

By Ariella Steinhorn
The New York Times
7 min read

A few months ago, a man on the street catcalled me and then spanked my left butt cheek. Although I was wearing a thick winter coat and the slap did not leave a mark, my skin was pulsating from it. I felt dirty. And while I did not see his hand or even look directly at his face, I could not stop visualizing the grime caked beneath his fingernails.