Students get involved with the Women’s March on Philadelphia
Over 150 cities around the world held marches to support women’s rights, following the inauguration of the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. In Philadelphia, the event began on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. with a march from Logan Square to Eakins Oval on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway where a rally would follow.
Lauren Hitt, the communications director for Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, estimated 50,000 people were in attendance on Saturday. This number exceeded the estimated 20,000 attendees which had been projected on Thursday. Among those in attendance were families, children, adults, and students, including many from Saint Joseph’s University.
Due to the heavy passenger traffic, many SEPTA trains were running behind schedule, making it more difficult for students to travel into Philadelphia.
“We were there [at the Overbrook train station] for about 40-45 minutes I would say, or until at least 10 a.m. and the train never came so we actually just called for an Uber and we ubered into the city,” Lauren Critelli, ’19, said.
Critelli also took an Uber when leaving the march and said that traffic in Center City made it difficult to leave.
Ethan Flanagan, ’18, expected the trains to be delayed on Saturday and went into Philadelphia on Friday.
“My boyfriend lives in Center City, so I stayed with him the night before because I knew the trains were going to be super crazy. So I stayed in the city and then we walked there [to the march].”
Even though getting into the city was more difficult than expected, students were still able to make sure they could attend the march so they were able to voice their beliefs.
“I feel that, as a young woman in this country, women’s rights are really important and there is such a broad spectrum of types of women,” said Critelli. “I feel like marches like these bring women from all over the country together to talk about the issues that they have collectively. They give us a chance to understand one another and figure out the most effective way to make our voices heard and make a change.”
Signs, shirts, and chants supporting equal pay, Planned Parenthood, immigration rights, gay rights, and better representation for Republicans were just some of the ways people were able to show support for a variety of concerns.
Sammy Kominiarek, ’19, said that some of her friends who didn’t know a lot about the march thought it was a protest; however, she felt that it differed from a traditional protest.
“That’s not really it [a protest] at all, it’s kind of like all uniting and loving each other and just the message of kindness,” Kominiarek said.
In addition to hearing different women speak about issues they think are important and learning about issues that she may not ever face, Critelli hoped that the march would be a way for people to voice their beliefs.
“I hope that this is an effective way to say our population won’t be forgotten under this new administration, who doesn’t seem to really appreciate our voices,” Critelli said.
