By: Brynne Diggins

NORTHFIELD, MN—On Monday, Feb. 12, Susan Adams had an uncomfortable interaction with her fellow classmate Tom Barnes. During an informal conversation in Sayles, Barnes expressed opinions that revealed him to be a bad person.

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” reported Adams. “He thought the idea behind creating Black Panther was bad because there wasn’t enough representation of his identity as white, cis male. And, you know what, he told me that he didn’t really believe all the women who said what he called ‘those hurtful things’ about Harvey Weinstein.”

Adams reported that she had heard from friends that Barnes was rumored to be a bad person, but that she talked to him anyway because she wanted to see for herself.

“I guess I just thought he couldn’t be that bad, you know?” Now, Adams is contemplating whether all the other rumored bad men are also bad.

“It’s just weird, like, I love my friends, but can I really believe them when they say someone is racist or a rapist?” asked Adams. “Before this experience, I thought, ‘no way, every man is deserving of the benefit of the doubt! Who cares if all of my friends have horror stories about this person?’ but now, I think I might need to start believing other women when they say: that man is bad.”