Over 100 Stanford University students, professors and alumni are expected to join the Women’s March in Washington Saturday.
The Stanford Community Marchers organized the group to advocate for human rights, women’s rights and racial justice. The community marchers are not officially representing the university.
“I think about the women I know in my life. I think about the rights I want to have in the future. I think about making sure the next administration knows how we feel and that we are going to get involved, even as students. No matter where I am in my life I hope to always get involved,” said Kayla Guillory, a junior at Stanford.
Students lead the charge to plan a trip during a post-election discussion in Professor Allyson Hobbs’ history class called American Road Trips.
“We were talking about the election and trying to think about what we could do to make sure that our voices were heard and to make sure that we were sort of standing up and speaking out for the more vulnerable members of our communities,” said Professor Hobbs.
Now the students and faculty are heading to the nation’s capital. Students fundraised and reached out to alums and other donors for financial help to ensure anyone interested could attend regardless of financial need.
The group will include both men and women of all races.
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“It seemed very important to me to give our current students a chance to attend a historic event,” said Estelle Freedmen, a Stanford history professor. “That says something about American politics and the long history of women’s activism; marching in Washington for suffrage, and now marching for both women’s rights but also for economic and political justice across the board.”
Friends of the marchers provided pink knitted “pussyhats” which will be worn at the march as a sign of solidarity with other marchers. Students created a banner as well to represent the Stanford marchers.
