Distraught over the results of the recent presidential election, freshman Ellen Poulter said she quickly made arrangements to attend the Women’s March in Washington D.C.

“After the election, I decided that I had to do something,” Poulter said. “We knew (we would attend the Women’s March) the week after the election.”

According to Alicia Donahue, a member of the leadership team for Women’s March Minnesota, the Women’s March Minnesota aimed at making a public statement.

“The mission (of the Women’s March) was to come out in numbers too great for our new administration to ignore on their first day in office,” Donahue said.

Junior Skyler Rudelius-Palmer, who attended the Women’s March Minnesota, said the the march brought people with similar passions together.

“I think (the Women’s March) achieved showing people that even though we have a president who (people are unsure of), people will still stay united and still fight for what they believe in,” Rudelius-Palmer said.

According to German teacher Shari Fox, the Women’s March advocated for more than just women’s rights.

“I saw a lot of people there that were marching with signs supporting all the other things that are under attack right now like LGBTQ rights, black lives, civil rights, freedom of speech (and) human rights,” Fox said. “So I was also there marching for all the other things that I feel are under attack as well.

Donahue said the leadership team aimed to make the march a safe space for all people to attend.

“We wanted people to bring their family and be a part (of) what we were hoping and (what) turned out to be a historic event for Minnesota, the nation (and) the world.” Donahue said.

According to Poulter, her family prepared for the march by attending an informational training.

“(My) parents went to a training on how to de-escalate situations and then (my friend and I) went to a training on self defense,” Poulter said. “Apparently a lot of predators were trying to be in D.C. that weekend.”

Fox said the progress made by the Women’s March expresses the continual need for change.   

“We still have come a really long way,” Fox said. “It’s just really important that we send the message that we want to keep going in that direction and not go back to the dark ages.”

 

Donahue said the Women’s March publicly marked the start of an ongoing movement.

“(The march) was just the beginning,” Donahue said. “We truly are here for the long haul, we’re here to keep moving Minnesota forward and connecting our communities.”