This past Thursday, I admit, my attention to my teachers was a bit lacking after 10 a.m. I sat in my classes with my computer in front of me and two windows open: one containing whatever the assignment was for that period and one the live feed of the United States Senate hearing room.

I watched as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford courageously and persuasively detailed the incident of sexual assault that happened to her when she was in high school. I watched as she answered questions calmly, always striving to be as helpful as possible, and freely admitting when she couldn’t remember a detail. I watched as she used her own knowledge — she is a professor of psychology — to explain her trauma to the senators. I watched as she treated every member of the committee with respect. I watched as she showed her emotions, her voice shaking, but never let them get the best of her. I watched as she conducted herself with dignity and poise.

The committee adjourned for a lunch break. I muted the video to get some work done, feeling hopeful that this hearing would be what it was supposed to be: a bipartisan chance to investigate serious allegations.

Then Judge Brett Kavanaugh walked into the room and began talking, and I could feel my hope spiraling down the drain.

I watched as he acted belligerent and rude, even going so far as to interrupt several senators multiple times. I watched as he delivered his opening statement in a near-shout. I watched as he responded to a senator’s legitimate query as to whether he’d ever blacked out from drinking with what was essentially a variation on “Well, have you?” I watched as his face became ever redder and his demeanor ever less appropriate. I watched as he refused to grant even the simplest inquiries a straight answer, instead ducking the question or lying outright. I watched as he railed against Democrats, decrying the hearing as a “political hit” and ranting about “revenge for the Clintons.”

All this from a man who said, mere weeks ago, that the Supreme Court “must never be viewed as a partisan institution”; from a man seeking a seat on the highest court of our country, whose justices must be neutral in order to render a fair, objective decision. 

The Code of Conduct for United States Judges states that judges “should not be swayed by partisan interests” and “should be patient, dignified, respectful, and courteous” — a stark contrast to the thinly-veiled temper tantrum on display at Thursday’s hearing. 

I believe Dr. Ford. But regardless of whether you believe her, one thing is clear: Kavanaugh is not fit to be on the Supreme Court.