Millions of Americans took to the streets for the second iteration of No Kings Day in protest against the Trump administration. The city of Harrisonburg was no exception and according to Tyler Goss, “people showed up” on Oct. 18. Goss, who works as Director of Student Engagement and Leadership Development here at EMU, was a part of the hundreds singing, chanting, and marching through the downtown.
According to Goss, the event in Harrisonburg had a heavy emphasis on the frustrations with how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have impacted local communities. “Community members shared heartbreaking stories of witnessing ICE officers tear local families apart,” and for Goss, community is why he attended. “This is my community. We showed up for one another.” He described the atmosphere as “a mix of solidarity, grief, and determination.”
A common symbol that appeared was the monarch butterfly, which Goss said “represented the truth that migration itself is natural” as it migrates between the U.S. and Mexico. Malia Bauman, a junior at EMU who also attended the march, took note of the symbolism as well.
“The monarch butterfly has long been a symbol of resilience and migration.” Bauman is concerned with how vulnerable communities have been impacted by the current administration’s policies. Attending the No Kings Day gathering was one way Bauman could “show support for communities who are being severely, negatively impacted by the government’s actions.” She also described the event as having “renew[ed] my hope and energy in this kind of work.”
Several EMU students also made their way to Washington, D.C., to march with over 100,000 others through the nation’s capital. “I am afraid of the direction our country is heading in towards authoritarianism and censorship. I don’t think presidents should be racist, misogynistic, xenophobic sex offenders and liars, to name a few of my concerns,” says EMU junior Renae Benner.
There were several speakers at the event, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, although the crowd was so big that Benner said she couldn’t even see them from her standpoint. Even with the size of the crowd, she described the environment as overwhelmingly peaceful despite the amount of anger and frustration expressed that day. Benner appreciated the opportunity to go to D.C. for a day to protest because of EMU’s proximity to the capital. For her, protesting is “one way of demanding that my government recognize and represent the desires of the group I am protesting with.”
“There were a lot of people who had very determined looks on their faces and were clearly very ready and excited to be in that space,” says first-year Mara Carlson. Carlson and a group of friends also decided to make the drive to Washington, D.C. to spend part of their fall break at a protest that she says they all feel passionately about. “I think it was less of a political thing, and more of like we’re all here on a humanitarian basis.”
Adam Rhodes, another first-year student and one of Carlson’s friends who accompanied her, says that “this was one of the bigger protests I’ve been to, it was cool, a lot of people came out which was awesome.” The crowd seemed to have a diverse range of people according to Rhodes, “I feel like a lot of different people from different backgrounds were [there].” The main reason Rhodes cites for feeling a need to attend the protest stemmed from his disapproval for some of the administration’s international policies. “My biggest reason is probably with Palestine… the US involvement with Israel.” Rhodes’ final thoughts however, may best describe the motivation for these acts of protest. “Democracy is good, big fan of it.”
