Graduates recall meeting Ginsburg
GREENWICH — Bella Subramaniam was in her Texas dorm room with her two roommates when she got the notification on her phone.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died at the age of 87 after five bouts with cancer.
“I knew she’d been struggling and fighting a long time, but everybody said she’d make it until the election,” said Subramaniam, a Greenwich Academy alumnus. “I broke down in tears. I texted my mom, and said, ‘I can’t believe this just happened, I don’t know what I’m going to do.’”
The news hit home for Subramaniam — not just because of the possible implications for the nation’s highest court, but also because of the halfhour she spent with Ginsburg in 2018.
While on a school trip to Washington, D.C., in a meeting room of the U.S. Supreme Court, Subramaniam along with 13 of her Greenwich Academy classmates had the rare privilege to meet Ginsburg and stand in her presence.
Subramaniam was part of Greenwich Academy’s inaugural Institute for Public Purpose, a oneweek trip that introduces sophomores to concepts of government and public service. The trip was led by Connie Blunden, director of the school’s Center for Public Purpose, and included tours of Congress and community service in Washington, D.C. But the highlight, Blunden and her students said, was the meeting with Ginsburg.
The associate justice spoke to the girls about the importance of working across the political aisle and writing clearly and precisely, as well as the role of women in politics and on the court.
“Everything people have been saying the past few days is true,” Blunden said of Ginsburg. “She’s slight of stature and softspoken. But what was really clear to me was that she was maybe soft in her voice, but very strong in her ideas and clear in her thinking about the role of the courts and in ensuring justice and working toward justice.”
Ginsburg was lighthearted and funny, generous with her advice and, above all, she projected a sense of sincerity and humanity, Subramaniam said. Her classmate Yolanda Lewis, now a political science major at Providence College, said she still remembers the feeling in the room that day.
“I still feel the emotion in everything she was saying,” said Lewis, who said her dreams of becoming a lawyer only intensified after the meeting.
Now, Lewis said she’s left with a feeling of uncertainty as President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress attempt to replace Ginsburg, a resolute liberal voice on the high court, with a more conservative judge.
“You knew her intentions in the job,” Lewis said. “You knew she was going to not only fight for women, but for everyone.”
Subramaniam, too, described feelings of sadness combined with a sense of purpose to continue the work done by Ginsburg, who fought for gender parity and women’s rights.
“I think it definitely has heightened my anxiety about November,” Subramaniam said. “I saw this one quote, that was like, ‘You have to mourn today but you have to fight tomorrow.’ So I’m trying to tell everyone to vote, to get registered. ... I’m trying to fight on in her honor and her name because I feel that it’s so important to carry on her legacy.”
Blunden, too, said that afternoon left an indelible mark on her.
“Personally, I just hope to be able to live in a way that advances her legacy and her work into the future,” Blunden said.