Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

Students prepare for Indianapolis Women's March

Campus Filler

Amanda Stephens, an IU grad student, accepts that Donald Trump will be the nation’s newest president. However, she said she will resist what he 
stands for.

Resistance is the next step in showing Trump what he is getting into when he takes office, Stephens said. She will start resisting in the Women’s March 
Indianapolis.

“We really, really dislike that he’s our president,” Stephens said. “But, that’s not going to get us anywhere.”

The Women’s March Indianapolis will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday outside the Indiana Statehouse and will draw people from across the state. More than 5,000 people have responded on the march’s Facebook eventand said they will attend.

The Indianapolis march will also happen at the same time as the Women’s March on Washington in Washington, D.C. These women’s marches will be taking place across the world one day after Trump’s inauguration.

“Trump is pro-market, pro-capitalism and pro-money, money, money,” Stephens said. “We’re all against the same belief. Now how can we come together?It’s about visibility, solidarity and alliances.”

Stephens is a Ph.D. candidate in gender studies at IU and taught a feminist activism class during the fall semester. She said she is scared about the stances the new administration will take on issues like the direction of Planned Parenthood, reproductive rights and health care if people do not voice their concerns.

She said the march will be a catalyst for speaking out and furthering action in Bloomington, Washington, D.C., and around the country. There will be a total of 616 marches across the world; from Geneva, Switzerland, to Yangon, 
Myanmar.

“It’s creating solidarity with other people who experience different types of oppression but are all screwed by the same system,” Stephens said.

IU’s Feminist Student Association will also bring some of its members to the march. Alexis Davis, a junior attending the march with FSA, said she, too, recognizes the importance of uniting communities at the march.

“It isn’t just a women’s fight,” Davis said. “It’s a community fight for women. I think the march gives the opportunity for everyone in the community, regardless of gender, to come together and create a voice that can fight back.”

Davis will be carpooling to Indianapolis with other members of FSA. The group wanted to go Washington, D.C., but said Indianapolis was a better choice because it was closer.

“I’m expecting a big crowd and a lot of energy and positivity toward women,” Davis said.

Davis participated last year in a protest againstsv Indiana House Bill 1337, which prevented women from seeking abortions based on the fetus’s race, sex or potential disability.

Similar to Stephens, Davis said she wanted to voice her concerns about
 actions the new administration will take on women’s health, especially the direction of Planned Parenthood.

“There is a collective sense of insecurity about female viewpoints in the administration that’s coming into office,” Davis said. “It’s always a good idea to get your voice out there.”

Davis said she sees a national — even global — desire to be heard. Davis’ friend in London will participate in a women’s march there Saturday, too.

“I think if a message were to be sent to politicians, it would simply be that we are here,” Davis said. “We will be heard, and any policy that could potentially cause harm to women will not be stood for.”

Davis will go to Indianapolis with Margaret Hoffman, the director of social affairs for FSA.

“It is something FSA thought we should be a part of,” Hoffman said. “These are concerns that are close to our heart. Some of the policies and changes in our government we’ll see during this administration are going to be hard on a lot of women.”

Hoffman, who is active in politics, said FSA saw a rise in membership this election year.

“I think FSA, as a whole, is trying to let people of Bloomington and Indiana know that we are here and a resource for them,” Hoffman said. “We like to support women around the country.”

The march will serve as a place for people to gather as a community and a platform for people like Hoffman, Davis and Stephens to vocalize their concerns.

“In order for women to get involved, they need to believe they can,” Stephens said. “All these women are coming out in droves. It’s inspiring to young women. It says to them, ‘If they can do it, I can keep doing it.’”

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe