Dakota Phillips

MCOM 202, Finney

2/8/17

Emory & Henry Students Join Thousands in DC for the

Womens March

On January 21, the day after President Donald Trumps inauguration,

Emory & Henry students gathered in the streets of Washington to peacefully
protest and take part in the womens march. The students that partook in the
inspirational march brought back their experiences to the campus.
The estimated number of people at the womens march in Washington
was at least 470,000 according to crowd-scientists Marcel Altenburg and
Keith Still from Manchester Metropolitan University in Britain. The
Washington protest was civil with no arrests being made at the march.
Washington D.C. was not the only place to host this historical event.
Citizens in cities all over the country including: Chicago, Los Angeles, New
York and Seattle gathered to stand up for their rights. According to data
collected by the University of Denvers Erica Chenoweth and the University
of Connecticuts Jeremy Pressman, at least 3.3 million people participated in
over 500 marches that took place across the U.S.
The womens march official website stats their goal was to support
the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and
intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us.
This March is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in
new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We will not
rest until women have parity and equity at all levels of leadership in society.
We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice
and equity for all.
 Tanya Chanelle, a student at Emory & Henry College, recounted her
experiences of camaraderie at the womens march in Washington D.C. and
why it was so important for her to have the privilege to attend. I am a firm
believer in womens rights, and I had many experiences along with my peers
at this historic event, Chanelle said.
Emory & Henry College students and faculty and drove in vans to
Fredericksburg, Virginia to stay the night before taking the metro into
Washington D.C. the morning of the march. Chanelle said that Independence
Street was packed with thousands of people and that it was incredible to see
so many kinds of faces. Chanelle and her group wanted to go to the mall
because that is where the actual stage was located, but with the multitude of
people that were there, she could not move around much. Though space was
tight, she loved participating in crowd chants like, no ban, no wall with her
fellow protestors.
Chanelle explained that there were large screens on every block that
broadcasted the stage and allowed marchers to listen and view various
speeches that were given from all kinds of people. I wish we could have
listened to more of what everyday civilians had to say instead of all the
celebrities that were given a much longer time on the stage, Chanelle said.
Regardless of the speakers status or timeslot, all their messages
focused on the same point: equal human rights. Every political issue is a
womens issue, said Chanelle.
Chanelle said that she believes that people can learn from the impacts
of the womens march to change the way we see other individuals. I feel
that Trump was expecting violence, but with the lack of arrests at the
womens march, I feel like it shows how positive people can be in order to
change these issues that Trump has highlighted during his campaign.