Over the past four months, social media has exploded with women coming forward to share their experiences with sexual harassment following the Harvey Weinstein scandal. In addition to a whirlwind of sexual assault allegations with the #MeToo movement, feminists around the world participated in two women’s marches, the most recent of which occurred on Jan. 20. As feminists continue to strive towards shattering the glass ceiling, Democrats and Republicans have vocalized a wide range of attitudes towards the movement.

Similarly, male and female students from across the political spectrum at Solon High School hold a variety of attitudes towards the worldwide feminism movement and its implications.

The feminist movement deals with wage gap, workplace and sexual harassment issues. Some people at SHS believe that there is a very negative stigma associated with the word “feminism.” Although Dictionary.com defines feminism as “the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men,” only approximately 60 percent of women and 33 percent of men in America identify as feminists or strong feminists.

Girl Up Co-President Diana Huang said that she thinks there is a misconception that feminism is only pro-female and anti-male.

“In general, I feel like most people are feminists, but they just don’t call themselves [feminists],” Huang said.

Vice President of Young Democrats and self-declared feminist Anamika Gautam pointed out that the benefits of equality between genders and races impact society as a whole.

“If women were afforded the same opportunities as men, or if black women were afforded the same opportunities as white women, we would have so many more [developments and] advancements in society,” Gautam said.

One goal of feminism is to eliminate sexual harassment. Most students that I spoke with said they recognize sexual harassment or sexism as an issue at SHS.

Bridget Miozzi, a member of Young Conservatives and a self-proclaimed feminist, said she definitely has personally observed instances of harassment or sexism.

“I was walking through the cafeteria a couple weeks ago with my friend and she was really getting hollered at, just because she was in leggings,” Miozzi said.

Gautam recalled a group of boys making negative comments about a few girls who did not wear makeup, and later said that she saw those boys throwing food at the girls in Senior Commons.

One student, who is being kept anonymous for privacy reasons, has expressed being upset and frustrated when the topic of #MeToo came up in class and some people made sarcastic comments about sexual harassment.

Young Conservatives Co-President Grant Schwartz said he thinks that the punishment should be large for any man who mistreats a woman, and there should be resources for people to turn to if they experience harassment.

Principal Erin Short said that hearing about instances of sexual harassment at SHS made her blood boil.

“Nothing is more important to us than making sure that our kids feel safe in this building,” Short said. “Harassment means kids aren’t safe.”

Short said she believes that sexual harassment and sexism can be combated through discussions with staff and students. She also said that staff and students should set examples for appropriate behavior.

“I think by improving the culture of this building, we are creating more successful humans who can go out and make a change [in society],” said Short. “That’s far more important than anything else we teach here.”

Short emphasized that if students are sexually harassed, they can talk to herself or a guidance counselor. If students do not feel comfortable talking about the incident, they can report it anonymously via Safe School Helpline. Safe School Helpline is also available as an app.

Safe School Helpline assists victims to report sexual harassment, which is one of the primary goals of the national #MeToo movement.

Although Schwartz says he supports the premise of the #MeToo movement, he also expressed concern over the potential for false accusations.

“The goal [of #MeToo] is that we want to make sure that all aggressors are dealt with and punished, but at the same time, it’s no joke,” Schwartz said. “Anyone who accuses a man of sexual assault ruins [his] entire career, [his] entire chance of being successful in any field that [he is] in, and I think that there have been cases where women have accused a man of sexual assault just because they were angered about something. There was no basis or fact behind them saying it, they simply made it up, and it ruined several people’s lives.”

Schwartz added, “I’m a hundred percent for equal opportunity [and] equal rights.”

Girl Up Historian Aidan Williams says he feels that the #MeToo movement brings a lot of light to the issue of sexual harassment.

“I think [the #MeToo movement] has made a lot of us more cognizant of our actions, [especially] a lot of the guys,” Williams said. “Just to take a step back and realize that your actions have consequences and to make sure that you’re treating everyone with equal respect.”

On the national level, many people associate the current feminist movement primarily with Democrats, leading to head-butting between liberals and conservatives. Although there were discrepancies between opinions on #MeToo at SHS, every student who I spoke with, male and female, Republican and Democrat, expressed being pro-equality. Some students expressed a strong desire for the feminist movement to be a non-partisan issue.

Miozzi, who is a Republican, said that she feels that the feminist movement needs to erase partisan division.

“Just because feminism isn’t [necessarily] considered a Republican party platform, it doesn’t mean that you can’t support it and it doesn’t make you any less Republican,” Miozzi said.

Williams, who is a Democrat on social issues, also said that he does not believe the feminist movement should have a partisan divide.

“I really don’t feel like women having rights is something that has to do with a political side,” Williams said.

Gautam expressed a desire for the parties to listen to each other.

“As someone who is a Democrat and who is liberal, I do find myself sometimes not considering a conservative [point of view],” Gautam said. “I think that’s something that everyone needs to work on, no matter your political leaning.”

Williams also explained why he believes the feminist movement is an issue for men, too.

“We all have mothers, a lot of us have sisters, people have girlfriends,” Williams said. “I think [feminism is] a lot about sticking up for people who haven’t had the same voice that I had in the past.”

Perhaps SHS’s voices of equality, partisan unity, logic and reason will evoke change as this generation of high school students begin to enter college, the workforce, and the world.

“[It] warms my heart that in [the students’ generation, women’s rights] is a human issue. It is not a political issue,” said Short. “That’s why [students] need to be the generation to help us get it right.”