Protest/March

Cherihan Jaber

March 11, 2016

20

            Attending the protest that began in March 4, 2016 was a great experience. There I saw people gathered together, finishing their signs as the protest was about to begin. I did not arrive to the free speech area until it was about 12:45. Although I was not able to make it in time to make my own sign, luckily extras were made for those who did not make their own. People were protesting about different topics, such as: homelessness, animal abuse, human trafficking, education, gender equality, the environment, and world hunger. Basically, we were protesting about the suffering majority of the world are encountering. Some of the things the signs discussed was, say no to human trafficking, end world hunger, feeding the United States, rescue equals animal adoption, I'm not for sale, help me, and animal adoption etc. The sign I was protesting about was animal abuse should not be allowed.

            As people were making and finishing their signs, there was a form of entertainment that the crowd enjoyed. There was a group of about 10 elderly ladies, who call themselves the Raging Grannies who basically sang about the challenging problems people face with till this day. They sang about homelessness, how people are shamed if they have an unwanted pregnancy, and about words people are embarrassed to talk about in public, like the word uterus. I remember as they were done singing about people who were homeless, one of the elderly ladies made a funny remark saying we are to be blamed for not helping them out. Though she was joking and people were laughing, in a way she was right. How hard can it be lend a few change to those in need?  When the Raging Grannies were singing about Uterus, they were encouraging people to sing the word Uterus. They sang "So when is it wrong to say uterus, there is not a shame to say this word, then kept repeating the word uterus. But only a few out of the crowd sang with them uterus. 

            Once the Raging Grannies finished singing their songs, the walking of the protest began at one o'clock to be exact. All the students that chose to walk were assembled together and headed passed the satellite union, towards the joyal administration building to walk on Maple Street. Each of us protesters were shouting facts about our signs. One girl who was walking right beside me shouted, "One in every five animals are abused". There we had a lot of attention from passing cars and others who were walking on campus. There we received many honks from ongoing cars and many people recording and taking pictures of us.  

            This march was important to me because I feel that people will neglect all conflicts unless somehow they themselves will be effected. I felt that I played a major role in this walk because I was able to help spread the word and message that needs to be heard. I do not think it is fair that people would avoid these tragic issues so they do not have to help out. People need to put themselves in other people's shoes to understand the burden they are suffering from. I feel that if more people were involved and supported everything we were protesting, the world would be a better place to live. It takes so little to show some love and support to an important cause.

I felt the protest of these causes were a huge success. We had a lot of people who helped make signs and walk during the march. We had food, drinks, and several tables in the free speech area. I think what could have made this protest more significant is if we had a few homeless people or people who were shamed for abortion join us in the walk and give a speech of their own personal experience. I think that people would be more sympathetic and we would have a bigger crowd because people love a story that can relate to them.