The Supreme Court, the Highest Court in the Land, the final say on all things Constitution, the potential future workplace of Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Kavanaugh first drew the spotlight for his involvement in the Ken Starr investigation into President Clinton. Kavanaugh later served as White House Staff Secretary under President Bush before being nominated to the Court of Appeals, though this nomination process took an extraordinary three years before he was finally confirmed to the DC Circuit court in 2006, where he has served ever since. This all brings us to today, where extremely rushed hearings have been underway in the Senate for two weeks discussing Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court.

Though Kavanaugh is undeniably accomplished and qualified to serve, the process and reasoning of his nomination have been highly irregular and suspect. The process in the Senate has been accelerated so as to confirm Kavanaugh as quickly as possible; the Republicans would certainly prefer it happen before the midterm elections in November in case they lose seats. This has led to a hectic and controversial nomination wherein over 100,000 documents relating to Kavanaugh's time in the Bush White House are being withheld under the guise of "executive privilege." This means Donald Trump has chosen to hide these documents, most written by Kavanaugh, from the American public. What horrible things could be lurking in these documents that will never see the light of day? If Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) gets his way and successfully shoehorns this nomination, the public will never know what's being hidden.

The reasoning behind Trump's nomination of Kavanaugh is clear; Kavanaugh is of the belief that a sitting president cannot, by any means, be criminally indicted or subpoenaed, an especially useful belief for the current president who is facing both potential indictments and subpoenas. Additionally, Kavanaugh is an especially desirable judge for conservatives who wish to set back the clock on the last century of progress and especially see Roe v. Wade repealed.

So why should you, the average college student, care at all about this? After all, it's not like Supreme Court decisions actually affect people like us, right? Wrong. Incredibly important and consequential decisions are passed down from the Court every year, and they most certainly have direct repercussions on the lives of everyone. As young people, access to affordable and reliable birth control is vital, and prevention isn't always successful, thus Roe v. Wade is an extremely important precedent that is in danger of being reversed. Also on the conservative chopping block are issues such as same-sex marriage and voter ID laws. With Kavanaugh's confirmation, conservatives would have the votes on the Court they need to overturn same-sex marriage and upheld harsh voter ID laws crafted in states such as North Carolina, designed to suppress the vote of less advantaged people.

Brett Kavanaugh, accomplished lawyer and judge, the stooge of President Donald Trump. Handpicked by the conservatives to overturn crucial progressive decisions, Kavanaugh is nothing more than a shield for Trump who will do anything to avoid the consequences of his actions. We cannot afford to allow a political bodyguard, nominated with the sole intention of keeping Trump from being indicted, nominated by a president under investigation, whose legitimacy is extremely questionable, nominated to reverse the forward progress of this great country. This is an issue that needs to matter to you. Young people have the numbers, we have a voice, we can stand up and fight. We cannot ignore this; we can make a difference.