Since the Primary Election, my priority has been to get out into the community as much as possible. I've started to meet with fellow legislators from the Berkshires to the Merrimack Valley to the Cape to discuss priorities, to start building coalitions, and to determine which legislation to sponsor and co-sponsor in the upcoming session. I have been to countless community events from the Council on Aging Walk in Southampton to the Hatfield Community Garden Potluck to the Special Town Meeting in Westhampton to the Stop the Pipeline Forum in Northampton, and I am working hard to get to know the constituents in our district. I've enjoyed the work immensely, and I'm excited to delve deeper in the coming months!

Do you have a community event you want me to attend? Issues you want to sit down to discuss? Legislation you want to see passed? Email info@lindsaysabadosa.com with the details.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with WHMP and fellow primary winners Jo Comerford and Natalie Blais for a discussion with the women legislators in the Pioneer Valley. If you missed us live, you can listen to the recording here: https://soundcloud.com/…/whmp-breakfast-club-with-the-women…

Last fall, a janitor was arrested at Northampton High School for making structural modifications to the girls' bathroom so that he could photograph unsuspecting persons using said bathroom. Last week, I was told that the students at Northampton High School reclaimed that bathroom on school picture day by posting positive messages on the mirrors for victims and fellow students. I am sharing a picture with permission. 

I was recently able to witness the power of student-organizing as students led a walk-out to demand that we believe victims. On a day when we asked the Senate Judiciary Committee - once again - to believe victims, it feels tremendously powerful to see students take to the street to openly discuss sexual assault. In their own words: "As high school students, we understand that consent is mandatory and that our peers should be held responsible if they violate someone the way Kavanaugh violated Dr. Ford." 

I'm deeply grateful to the students for standing up and speaking out - although I am also saddened to find ourselves in such familiar circumstances. Coming forward to report assault is never easy; victims make huge personal sacrifice and take on a lot of risk by coming forward, and they are often revictimized in a process that requires them to relive and reexamine every aspect of their original assault. It is no wonder that, even by conservative estimates, close to 50% of cases of sexual assaults go unreported.

I have clear childhood memories of watching Anita Hill testify and her mistreatment by the Senate Judiciary Committee. That was a formative moment for me. I was inspired by her courage and unwillingness to back down. I am equally inspired by Dr. Ford. Thank you to everyone at Northampton High School - and around the country - who took today to stand up for what's right and to stand with victims.

You can watch the students' coverage of the walkout here. (I'm interviewed beginning at 2:54.)