Hollywood and the entertainment industry has recently sprung into an uproar due to the recent reveal that Harvey Weinstein, for a number of years, has used his power to sexually assault multiple women.

If you don’t know who Harvey Weinstein is, there’s a really high chance that you’ve seen one of his movies.

Harvey Weinstein was the co-founder of The Weinstein Company, which is one of the big Hollywood studios that has produced some of the most beloved films out there.

Weinstein has received producer credits on many of Quentin Tarantino’s films and so much more. He’s even won an Oscar for “Shakespeare in Love” back in 1999, and his films have received countless other nominations.

Frankly, it is truly sickening to hear about all of his sexual assault allegations. Whenever I open up my Twitter feed, all I see is news about Weinstein and the horrible things he’s done to women.

But along with that, I also see a lot of people who have spoken up against and have outright condemned Weinstein, including: James Gunn (writer-director of “Guardians of the Galaxy”), Hilary Clinton, George Clooney, the Obamas, Jennifer Lawrence, Gwyneth Paltrow, Brie Larson and Mark Ruffalo.

Because of it, Terry Crews also recently came out and said that he himself has been sexually assaulted by a male in the industry at a Hollywood function. 

See, Weinstein used his power and platform to perform really terrible and evil acts against innocent women. It’s good to see that some people, who have their voice heard by millions, use it to condemn such ferocious acts.

Since then, the Weinstein board has been dissolved, and the company is thinking about changing its name. However, I don’t think that’s enough.

Here’s the thing: sexual assault happens everywhere, every single day. It’s not only in Hollywood or with famous people. We need to remember that.

It breaks my heart to say it, but it also happens locally. There have been incidents of it here on our campus. We’ve all received those emails about a sexual assault that recently happened.

The truth is that there are so many instances of it that go unheard.

We’ve all heard it before, but let me say it again. Consent is everything; respect is everything. It cannot be said enough.

And although we may not have millions of followers on a social media platform, we do have a voice. We can speak up for those who have been sexually assaulted or are hurting in different ways.

We can bring awareness and use our voices for those who aren’t heard or are too afraid to speak up. We can build a community of love and respect and an environment that lets people feel comfortable enough to speak up.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month is in April. Don’t wait until then to do something about it.

We need to use our power to empower others and not to take advantage of them. Whatever power we have, it must be used for good.

The world is already bad enough as it is. With hurricanes and fires that take away entire neighborhoods and people’s homes, we don’t need to be hurting each other.

We’re all human beings. Treat each other as one.