The Women’s March on Washington Jan. 21 drew crowds from all over the country. WF students who went sought to have their voices heard.

Seniors Colette Provenzano and Marcela Harrell went to march for the issues they are passionate about.

“It was important to me to stand up for not just women’s rights, but human rights. I feel like Trump’s presidency has brought out a negative side in a lot of people and created an even greater divide among the people, and this protest was a peaceful way to stand up for what we believe in,” Provenzano said. “His degrading comments about women were not taken lightly, and it was necessary to stand up for ourselves.”
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the streets of Washington D.C. Marches were held around the world on the same day.

“It felt amazing to be a part of such a large movement. Just to know that you were there was an incredible feeling,” junior Mayla Gilliam said. “To know that the march shut down the mall and we illegally marched to the White House was so empowering. It was exhilarating. People were full of energy, and there wasn’t a single arrest, which showed that peaceful protests work.”

Senior Harper Eisen went with her mother to march.

“My mom actually was the one who first wanted to go. We are both big on women’s rights, and she felt like it was going to be a big movement that could actually make a difference, and because of the president we just elected, us women need to stand our ground,” Eisen said.

Eisen wanted to march to stand up for the rights she believes she deserves as a woman.

“For me personally, I feel like it is a woman’s right to own the entirety of her own body and not let it be bossed around by our government. I also marched to change our rape culture. Many women and men are too afraid to speak out about sexual assault because our culture likes to make fun and jokes about it, as if it isn’t detrimental,” Eisen said.

Senior Piper Townsend joined the march to fight for a multitude of issues that she found significant.

“This march was important to me because I wanted to advance women’s rights in our nation, promote the closing of the the gender wage gap and to give women the right to their bodies,” Townsend said. “It felt amazing knowing I was being a voice for so many women in our nation and being around so many like-minded people.”
Gilliam and her family enjoyed the entire event, even though most of it was spent standing amongst a large group of people.

“The march as a whole was very empowering. It was a lot, and I mean a lot of standing still because so many people ended up showing up to support what they were marching for,” Gilliam said. “We stood there for four hours in one spot. I felt like a sardine. But as a whole, the march was very fun. It was cool to hear all the people chanting and talking about where they were from and why they were marching.”

Eisen also marched for the rights of others and issues that included sexual assault, body rights, LGBTQ rights and wage equality.

Several famous people attended the march as well to show their support, and several speeches were given by powerful people.

“There was a speaker, Ashley Judd, who read a poem from a young girl, which talked about all of the things wrong with the world: racism, sexism, homophobia, white supremacy, misogyny, ignorance, etc,” Eisen said.

Provenzano was also moved by speeches given at the march.

“I heard a lot of speeches but the main speech that spoke to me was a man who spoke about how no group, whether Republican or Democrat, was better. He spoke out and said even though some people might not support and approve of Trump’s presidency, yelling and rioting doesn’t make you any better than the Trump policies and supporters that you speak out against,” Provenzano said. “We all have to be supportive and keep in mind that we are a democracy and that means that the people have a voice, and we have to speak out for what we believe in in a peaceful manner, not violent protests.”