I read Lauri Hennessey’s column about #MeToo and it brought my own life altering memories of Senator Packwood flooding back. I was brought up in a small town with values that taught me respect for my elders and that certain people like police, judges, and congressmen deserved even more respect.

It was 1973. I had just graduated from college and was home packing up to move out and begin my career in the world of finance. I was dating a man who was an aide to Senator Packwood and they were in my hometown for an event. When my friend picked me up, he said that he needed to stop by the senator’s hotel room to finalize some plans for the following day. Wow! I was going to meet a US senator!

From his handshake I could tell he was not what I expected … then he opened his mouth and politicians fell to the bottom of the sespool in my world. Crude and rude remarks came spewing forward. I was taken aback, crushed and totally disillusioned. My attitude towards politics changed that night.

I went on to a career in business where I faced more verbal and physical sexual harassment but none of these encounters changed my world the way my encounter with Senator Packwood had. Opening people’s eyes to sexual harassment has come too late for some of us, but at least it is starting to happen.

— Kasia Stahancyk