Nation IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Anita Hill Says She Faced Public Scorn

Anita Hill, the University of Oklahoma law professor who accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, said in an interview that she was publicly vilified after her appearance in televised Senate hearings last October. “My parents were exposed to ugliness in a way that was really unfair, and unfortunate, and hurtful to them. . . . I was publicly vilified, and, of course, that’s ugly, and that’s something that I would not wish on anybody else.” Hill said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that, although she felt she had not received a fair hearing, “we need to get beyond those hearings, because . . . for many people that issue is already decided.” Afterward, Thomas was confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice Hill returned to her teaching position. She said she believes the outcome would have been different if there had been a woman on the Senate committee.