Striding for humanity

Simultaneously, alongside each other, crowds of women and men of all ages, races and political beliefs flush through the city and sound out in chants.

 The Women’s Marches around the country took place on January 21. Following an 11 hour ride on a

bus from East Lansing to Washington D.C., Special Education teacher Mary Waterhouse met her

daughter, Heather Kilvington, and her granddaughter, Andromeda Kilvington, and around 500,000 others for the march following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

“The air was charged with excitement and compassion,” Waterhouse said. “The marchers were there for a reason and wanted their opinions and beliefs heard and validated. My purpose in attending the march was to leave a small footprint of my opinions and beliefs.”

Spanning from across the country to join the march in Washington D.C., marchers joined for all different reasons. Junior Cameron Flynn joined to fight for people’s rights.

“It took us an hour and a half to get on the train to get there,” Flynn said. “I was happy to be part of the movement. I didn’t see a point in moving backwards, rather than moving forward. The march was mainly for women’s rights, but it was for anybody with something positive to say.”

According to research compiled by Professor Erica Chenoweth at the University of Denver and Professor Jeremy Pressman at the University of Connecticut, nearly 3.2 million people across the nation joined in on the Women’s Marches in the 50 states and surrounding countries, meaning that one percent of people in the United States  attended.

This mere percentage pulled quite a bit of media coverage on the events. While students and teachers attended the national march, part of that percentage stayed local with the Women’s March at the Capitol in East Lansing, Michigan.

“It was a very peaceful environment,” according to senior Jordan Hammerberg. “There were little kids and dogs. It wasn’t as angry as I thought it would be. It was an atmosphere of hopefulness and togetherness. I wanted to see what it was like. I wanted to see people with a more liberal mindset.”

The march in Lansing was held on Saturday, January 21, where patrons came together on the capitol lawn to start the march. According to substitute teacher and parent Diane Wilson, it was overwhelming how many supporters stood on the lawn, toddler aged and older. 

“The Capitol lawn was filled with people standing shoulder to shoulder. Even though it was labeled as the ‘Women’s March,’ everyone was there, from children, to men, to the elderly in wheelchairs,”

junior Carmen Wilson said. “It was crazy to see how many people came together to protest President Trump, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Governor Rick Snyder, the defunding of Planned Parenthood and so many other rights that are being threatened. Attending the march was something I will remember forever. Being there and hearing women give their speeches gave me a sense of hope, a sense that even though things may seem that they’re falling apart, we can fight to keep it together.”

With the Women’s March being a global event, people from all over connected on issues that marchers are passionate about. This passion brought on media attention for the marchers and the event.

“I think the most exciting part of the Women’s March was the fact it was a global event,” Waterhouse said. “People everywhere united for common causes and beliefs, exercised their right to peaceful assembly and had their voices heard. This is our democracy, and it can be messy at times.”