People of all ages, races, and genders, including Penn State Behrend community members, participated in marches supporting women’s rights, among other causes on Saturday, Jan. 21.

 

The largest protest encompassed by this movement was the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., which is being estimated by many to be the largest protest in U.S. history. Meanwhile in Erie, at least 2,000 people met in front of the Erie Court House, marched around Perry’s Square, and listened to speakers in the square on Saturday. The event started at 2 p.m. and finished shortly before 5 p.m.

 

Several Penn State Behrend community members took part in both the Erie march and the D.C. march on the day after President Trump’s inauguration.

 

Heather Cole, Lecturer in Digital Arts at Penn State Behrend, played a large role at Erie’s Women’s March. Though this was her first time playing an administrative role publicly outside of Behrend, Cole has been a women’s rights activist since she was young. She began to bring this activism to Behrend in the last couple years.

 

“The events that transpired in this last year made me realize that it's time to be more vocal,” said Cole.

 

Cole first heard of the post-inauguration marches through social media and originally intended to attend the march in D.C., but when an individual from Bernie Sanders’ campaign reached out her, she decided to stay in Erie and help locally. The individual contacted Cole after after seeing her speak for TEDxErie. As a result, Cole acted as the master of ceremonies in Erie on Saturday. In this role, she announced the beginning of the march, introduced each speaker, and gave concluding remarks.

 

Ultimately, Cole’s participation in the march stemmed from ideological purpose. “I just align ethically with what this march stands for. Women’s rights are human rights,” said Cole, “and human rights are women’s rights, which is something we must remember even after this march ends. As a nation, we need to embrace the idea of feminism not in terms of gender but in terms of equality.”

 

With that sentiment in mind, Cole encouraged individuals to look into the reasons behind the march and to attend even if they only partially agree with one women’s rights issue. She stated that it is unrealistic to believe all women will always completely agree with one another. She also urged all who participated to look beyond liberal and conservative.

 

“This march isn’t about the President.” Cole said, “Instead, think about what unites us rather than what divides us.”

 

Organizers of the Erie event only expected about 300 people to come and were pleasantly surprised with the huge turnout of thousands of individuals. The surprisingly warm January day certainly positively influenced the attendance numbers. Additionally, at least a dozen Behrend students helped make up the thousands of participants in attendants.

 

“In a time when people are feeling alone, and targeted, and as though a divide is growing in the nation, it was inspiring to see millions of people, here and abroad, coming together in peace for a common cause,” said Emily Dobry, a sophomore Biology major. She attended the march in Erie with her husband and two young sons.

 

“Getting to experience this all on a local level really made me view Erie in a different light. I knew people cared, but I had no idea how important it would truly be to so many people,” said Dobry.

 

Several speakers addressed different issues, such as the environment, LBGTQ rights, Planned Parenthood, religious freedom, and the rights of disabled persons.

 

In Washington, D.C., about one million people marched. Deniz Himmetoglu, a sophomore Mechanical Engineering major, was one of several students from Behrend to travel to D.C. Himmetoglu is an international student from Turkey, and he claimed that participating in this event fulfilled his lifelong dream of traveling to D.C. and making history.

 

“Being from another country helped me feel more passionate about the entire Washington D.C. trip because I knew that during the march the issues that cause direct problems on international students, like me, would also be addressed along the way,” Himmetoglu said. “Being a part of the largest peaceful protest in the history of the United States of America showed me how much impact the community we have here in the U.S. can cause by civil and peaceful demonstrations.”

Many individuals who participated in the worldwide marches plan on staying active in politics. The administrators from the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. are continuing to sponsor events and actions for the first 100 days of President Trump’s time in office.