Aggies march for women’s equality in Utah
The capitol building in Washington D.C. shook on Saturday morning as hundreds of thousands of activists marched in support of women’s rights.
The protest was largely in response to President Donald Trump’s views and statements concerning women.
Organizers of the march hoped the demonstration would “send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office and to the world that women’s rights are human rights,” according to the Women’s March on Washington website.
This massive march spurred more than 650 similar “sister” marches covering every state and reaching all corners of the United States, including U.S. territories Puerto Rico and Guam.
Together, these marches totaled upward of three million participants, making up the largest protest in American history.
Several women’s marches also took place in Utah, including those in Park City and Salt Lake City. And roughly 50 people gathered in Logan in response to a Tweet inviting Logan residents to meet at the city courthouse. Citizens of all ages turned out to make their voices heard.
Roughly eight thousand protesters attended the women’s march in Park City this past Saturday, despite snowstorms and the already-crowded streets due to the Sundance Film Festival.
Utah State University student Jasmine Despain and several other USU students, along with Despain’s high-school aged sister, participated in this march. Despain is the president of the university’s Students for Choice club and USU’s chapter of I Am That Girl — both organizations that aim to empower and create a better future for women, as well as advocate for reproductive health.
Despain and her friends made an enormous effort to simply arrive at the event, braving last weekend’s snowstorm as well as heavy road congestion. The trip from Salt Lake to Park City — normally a 45-minute drive — took two-and-a-half hours. They even resorted to an Uber ride in order to make it through the canyon and to the event on time.
Despain said she participated in the march because she wanted to be part of “herstory.”
“I wanted to show that I stand with the people that are afraid, marginalized and not treated with love. I wanted to stand on the right side of history,” she said.
Despain recounted talking to people of diverse backgrounds and experiences while protesting. She marveled at the fact that, though everyone came from differing circumstances, they unified in support of one another.
A quote from one of the speakers at the march regarding this coming-together rang true for Despain, “I will march for you, and I hope that you will march for me.”
“Women need to come together and show that they will fight for their rights and that they will not stop until they see justice served to everyone,” she said. “Most importantly, we will do it together for each other.”
Despain and fellow marchers feared their rights would be jeopardized under the new president.
When asked if she thought President Trump would respond to these marches, she replied with a laugh, “On Twitter, absolutely!”
The president may think the protests are foolish, but she is confident in her cause and efforts, she said.
“Nothing will change how I feel. I am so honored to have gone.”
Another sister march took place in Salt Lake City on Monday, Jan. 23, headed by Kate Kelly, who founded the Ordain Women movement, and other women’s rights activists. Upwards of six thousand protesters marched from the City Creek shopping center to the state Capitol building.
While most marches took place Saturday, the Salt Lake procession was purposefully planned for Monday, the first day of the 2017 Utah General Legislative Session.
Protesters wanted to make sure Congress heard their voices concerning a multitude of policies regarding women. Such policies included educating Utah employers about the gender wage gap, promoting higher education for women, ensuring affordable healthcare to women and strengthening awareness of violence against women and education on how to provide intervention.
Michelle Hixson, a program coordinator for the Center for Women and Gender, attended the march in Salt Lake City with her daughter, Betsy, 15, whose outspoken and determined personality inspired Hixson to attend. Betsy has always been an outspoken girl, Hixson said.
She said that after moving from Wisconsin to Utah, Betsy began to realize that her views about education and careers were different from her peers’ views. Betsy took part in a classroom debate concerning gender issues and experienced some pushback from her classmates regarding the issues.
Later, her mother casually mentioned the upcoming march in Salt Lake City. Betsy jumped at the chance to voice her opinion and assemble with others who shared her beliefs. Betsy began making hats and posters for the march as she watched the weather take a turn for the worse, Hixson said. She insisted to her mother that they still attend, which only motivated Hixson further as she saw her daughter’s dedication.
The mother and daughter duo braved the deep snow and slick roads and arrived in Salt Lake City. Immediately, Hixson said, she was impressed at the organization of the event. Attendees were given a number to text which added them to a Google document in which they could input their information and find out who their representatives are and any upcoming issues their local government would be discussing.
This was all in an effort to make sure those issues were not forgotten after Monday, but that participants were empowered to become involved with their local government long after the march.
Hixson emphasized how unified the march felt and how it unfolded peacefully. Although Hixson commented that President Trump’s staff had largely ignored the protests, she wanted to make clear that the march was “purely for Utah” to bring about change for women.
Curt Yonk, a senior with a double major in anthropology and psychology, also attended the march. Yonk said his mother was the inspiration for his participation. He wanted to march for women’s equality because he knows the women in his life would do the same if he were facing inequality, he said.
Yonk said his mother was a pioneer for women, serving many years in the Army, participating in college sports and later joining the law enforcement.
He said he had expected a much smaller turnout due to the weather. When he arrived, however, he was amazed at the massive turnout.
“It was inspiring. You really couldn’t help but get caught up in that spirit of unification,” Yonk said.
A follow-up event will take place on Monday at 12:00 p.m. in the Colony Room on the second floor of the Taggart Student Center. The event will include a panel of Utah State University students and leaders who attended the marches in Washington D.C. as well as those who attended sister marches in Utah.
@melodyj300
Photo by Sam Brown