President Donald Trump’s inauguration sparked a retaliation around the world. Thousands of people gathered around the capitol on Jan. 21 for the Women’s March on Austin in retaliation of Trump’s intended principles for the country. The 2016 election brought U.S. morals into question and built barriers between women and their unalienable rights. The purpose of the march was to start a unification of an increasingly dividing country and was originally meant to take place in Washington D.C., but it became an event that stretched to other states and even out of the country.

Among the people who participated in the event were Westwood students and staff, all marching to make a difference and support the movement. They came to vocalize their anger towards Trump and support the basic rights for women and people.

“I’m not old enough to vote, so I didn’t really get to have a say in the outcome of this past election and I wanted to do something to make a difference in any way that I could,” Sunny Bettadpur ‘18 said. “I went to the march because I believe that women deserve certain rights and should be respected and I don’t feel our current president and his administration acknowledge that. By supporting the movement, I hope that we show Donald Trump that he can’t get away with his blatant sexism. We can’t vote him out of office right now, but we can show him that the way he talks about women and all the laws he wants to pass that affect women are not okay. I honestly think people need more exposure and a better understanding of [feminism].”

As the day continued, thousands of protesters from the event were marching and listening to motivational speakers and slam poets from all over. Up to 50,000 supporters came with rally signs that read, “Women just want to have fundamental rights” and “Love trumps hate” along with megaphones and symbolic pink hats.

“The point of the march I think, it to make Trump realize there are a ton of people who don’t like him and his policies, and want him to support planned parenthood, LGBT rights, women’s rights, and POC (people of color) rights,” Lauren Gregorczyk ‘18 said. “I just felt so empowered and listened to even though there were so many people, but I guess that’s because we were all shouting the same message. It was so beautiful, positive and full of hope.”

Only a day after the inauguration, pages for civil rights, disabilities and climate change were all taken down from the whitehouse.gov website. Not only has this gone unnoticed, but the public is outraged by Trump’s continual lack of acceptance and recognition of the American people. Austinites do not feel listened to, so they came together to pursue a peaceful future and a leader who acknowledges all.

“I wanted my voice to be heard in opposition to the Trump presidency. I hope to get a good resistance movement going so that people are mobilized and writing their senators and congressmen, and watching and see what [Trump] does and take notice. I think people need to be vigilant,” an English teacher who asked not to be named said.

A website for the women’s march was created to spread the word of their fight and are now initiating a new campaign: 10 Actions for the first 100 Days. Every ten days, the website will post a new way to take action on a current issue affecting the U.S. — it encourages everyone to participate and make history. The campaign will continue for the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency. If you’d like to take action and support, visit the website to find out how you can contribute.