"Nobody has more respect for women than I do."

During the third and final presidential debate, this simple little phrase slipped out into the atmosphere. As soon as these words left Donald Trump's lips, my body grew tense, my face flushed red, and my heart sank to the floor.

This wasn't the first time I'd heard this phrase spoken by Donald Trump. I first heard him say this during the second presidential debate a few weeks ago, when he was asked by the moderators to address the recordings in which he boasted about groping and kissing women without their consent. I remember (so clearly) sitting on my bed in my dorm room, watching the debate on my computer. When (after dismissing the recordings as innocent and playful "locker room talk") Mr. Trump raved about his deep respect for women, my jaw dropped. I was angry. And shocked, and upset, and disheartened. I immediately snatched my phone from my desk and frantically typed a fury-filled text message to one of my friends (in all caps, as all rant-style texts must be), expressing my shock and frustration over the comment. I just couldn't believe it. It was so incredibly frustrating to watch someone who has been so openly abusive towards women express his respect for women, and what's more, present that respect as one that surpasses that of any other person. In the next few days, when I found myself engaged in discussions about the debate, I consistently brought up this comment, expressing my shock and incredulity and sadness to whoever was willing to listen. I couldn't let that comment go. I couldn't let it fall quietly into the pile of other equally discouraging comments he has made. It just stung a little too much.

Fast forward a few weeks to the third debate. I was sitting in a lecture hall, watching the debate projected on a screen, surrounded by fellow university students and faculty. And he said it again: "No one respects women more than I do." And again, my jaw dropped.

I feel a lot of emotions when I see and hear and think about the way that Donald Trump views and treats women, but one of the things I feel most deeply is sadness. Amidst all the anger and shock and utter disbelief lies a concentrated and sharp despair, one that grows larger and larger as time goes on. I just can't seem to understand how someone who treats so many women so poorly has made it this far in a presidential election. We as Americans, we as human beings, deserve a president--male or female--who values women as living, breathing beings with emotions and opinions and skills that are worthy of genuine respect, who celebrates women for their individuality and uniqueness, who fights for women and all that they deserve. There are a lot of women in this country, and every single one, young and old, should be able to look at the leader of her nation and see an ally, someone who cares for her well being, someone who would never think to call her crude names or degrade her body or insult her intelligence.

Everyone should have respect for women. And respecting women should not be some sort of competition, where one person can claim a greater amount of respect than another. Everyone should have respect for women, a respect that is full and complete and humanizing, and one that is given equally to every single woman, no matter her race or size or class or appearance or anything else.

And while respecting women should not be a competition, it cannot go unsaid that there are in fact many people who respect women more than Donald Trump does. Women do. We as women respect ourselves and one another more than Mr. Trump respects us. And because we respect and value and love ourselves, we just can't let comments and actions like the ones Donald Trump makes slip away and disappear into the atmosphere.

So to all of my fellow women (and everyone else, too):

Get mad and sad and angry.

Speak up.

Vote.