On Jan. 21, between 500,000 and 1.15 million women, men and children attended the Women’s March on Washington to speak, march and voice their opinions about the new President and civil rights.
Manual students, teachers and alumni attended both the inauguration and the Women’s March to exercise their own rights as women and as concerned citizens of the United States.
“The march represented something that was important to me not only as a result of the election, but just civil rights in general,” Caroline Henry (10, HSU) said.
With issues like reproductive rights, the wage gap and immigration laws at the forefront of the new presidency, many niche groups of people have said that they feel threatened by the new president and his ideals for the country.
“I think that President Trump made out his policies on a platform of hate and fear and I know many individuals who were very scared the day after he was elected,” Ms. Diaz (Science) said.
Fear has seemingly become a huge factor in altering people’s opinions of President Donald Trump and his proposals for the changing the democracy of America.
“When I found out that Trump had won the presidency, I was very scared for my reproductive rights and women all over,” Lilah Weiss (10, MST), member of the Planned Parenthood Teen Council, said.
Students who have attended both peaceful protests, like the Women’s March, and those that have been to more aggressive protests at Trump rallies closer to Louisville, noticed the dramatic shift in the tones of people’s attitudes.
“There were upwards of 600,000 people marching in support of women’s rights and they were doing it in a calm way. That in itself has its own message that there are a lot of people who support women and don’t agree with Trump’s policies or what he wants to do with healthcare,” Weiss said. “When I was at the march, even though everyone disagreed with Trump, they were saying that this is how I feel, and this is what I need as a human being.”
The immense crowds of people gave the march an extremely popular social media presence as people from all over the nation watched it unfold and saw the crowds of people surrounding the White House and the National Mall.
“You know how when you’re outside at the end of the day and you don’t notice it being dark until it’s pitch black, it was like that except as I was walking in I didn’t notice the ocean of people around me until I could not see the end of the people,” E. Streeter (10, J&C) said. “It was amazing, it was the biggest thing I’ve ever been in.”
The huge crowds of people sent a message to people all over the nation, not only of positivity, community, but a message resistance.
“Just because you were elected doesn’t mean that everyone is going to agree with you all the time and I am not going to stand by and let him do whatever,” Erin Woggon (class of 2016) said.
Students agree that they aren’t just resisting, they are “overpowering a small minority with a loud majority,” Henry said.
“The march had such a warm feeling, just to see so many people who have the same views as me all in the same place, it was just eye-opening,” Weiss said.
Special thanks to On the Record‘s Audrey Champelli and Ella Mays for covering the event and helping to write the story.
