Marching into the future of human rights

The first week of Donald J. Trump’s presidency was one of executive actions, legal controversies and protests— the most recent of them centered on his attempts to seal the United States borders from seven majority Muslim countries.

At Muhlenberg, the tone has been introspective, with eyes focused sharply on the future.

On the morning of Saturday, Jan. 21, over one hundred Muhlenberg students boarded buses and left for the Women’s March on Washington, which was attended by an estimated 500,000 people. For the students who helped organize the trip, it was a near- constant effort during winter break.

“There was not a day that went by during winter break that we were not talking to one another as we tried to put this together,” said Kavon Wilson ’19. “We gave ourselves a lot of time to organize and to think through, in critical ways, how to collapse partisanship and address all perspectives.”

In fact, perceptions of partisanship threatened to prematurely end both the march itself and thus, Muhlenberg’s delegation. Although the national organizers billed the march as non-partisan, the mission statement and objectives are inexorably linked to the platform of the American left.

“The idea of it [the march] being a partisan stance was something that we, as a group, struggled with,” said Becky Goodman ’17. “The march was really about humanitarianism.”

According to the student organizers, an initial request for financial support from the Student Government Association (SGA) was denied as “inappropriate” due to SGA’s policy on funding partisan political activities.

The students themselves were attune to the support from the College as well. Various academic departments worked in conjunction with College administration, led by the Dean of Students Office.

Across the curriculum, academic departments offered financial and logistical support for the trip, including organizational resources and food. These departments offered their support regardless of the partisan concerns, said Robin Riley-Casey, Director of the Multicultural Center. She also praised the student organizers for exhibiting compromise and considering the needs of all those attending.

“Students were very thoughtful of the population attending,” said Riley-Casey. “It was an important example of not being caught up in the weeds of partisanism, but focusing on the human rights that may be impacted by this administration and those who are on our campus.”

There were also concerns about the racial diversity of the attendees, both from Muhlenberg or otherwise.

Two weeks prior to the march, the New York Times reported on racial tensions in the organizing process of marches around the country. According to the article, national organizers included concerns specific to minority and undocumented immigrant women amongst the highlighted issues in order to “provoke uncomfortable discussions about race.” However, the majority of the national organizers were white, and that may have contributed to some of the pre-march discord. The lack of diversity transferred down to the participant level, as well.

“Not many of the students who went were students of color,” said Wilson. “The fact that it was organized by white feminists who co-opted the name of a march from the civil rights movement may have made students of color less inclined to participate.” Wilson added that at the march, chants about the Black Lives Matter movement, for example, were not met with as much enthusiasm and vocal response as others.

Now, two weeks after the march, the most pressing concern is about the ability to transform the enthusiasm of the march itself into an enduring social and oppositional movement moving forward. Issues from several political agendas were addressed at the march, and this variability will likely present challenges in terms of unifying a message.

To combat those concerns, the national organizers started the “10 Actions for the first 100 Days” campaign. The first of these actions tasks supporters with writing to their Senators about some of the important issues from the march’s Mission Statement.

The student organizers seemed cautiously optimistic when speaking about the potential impact of the march on campus. In general, the group acknowledged the importance of taking small steps at the local level as part of a larger, nationwide struggle.

“The work that we are able to do is right here,” said Goodman, who noted that an immediate goal should be to make engagement and activism more easily accessible. Of course, there is the potential for the march to serve as the first step in improving accessibility.

“Having brought them [Muhlenberg students] there is an entrance point to what talking isn’t doing. People are more inclined to get involved when there is a time and space,” said Wilson, adding that he believes increased activism is possible “if we strive to organize the space.”

Megan Lafayette ‘17 agrees, saying that she believes “people don’t really know where to begin, but things will be easier to take shape once they get involved.”

Perhaps most importantly, these positive messages have translated into concrete action on campus following Trump’s first week in office.

On Wednesday from 7-8:30 p.m., a march is planned in direct protest to the president’s executive action preventing Muslims from seven countries to enter the United States. According to the Facebook event, the march will begin in Parents Plaza and will progress to Egner Chapel, where prayers, reflections and a candle lighting ceremony will commence.

Beginning during Common Hour on Friday, a ‘teach- in’ will take place in Seegers Union from 2-5 p.m. According to Professor Sharon Albert, one of the faculty organizers of the event, the goal is to “provide a space for learning and discussion together as a full College community about the issues that have arisen in these first few days of Trump’s presidency, and particularly the Executive Order concerning refugees and visitors.” In following the College’s policy on partisan political activities, the teach-in will focus on “fair and equitable presentation of multiple political perspectives.”

Additionally, the Office of Multicultural Life (OML) will be offering Grassroots Organizing Workshops (GROWs) to encourage change and grassroots power within the College and the Allentown community. The GROW program focuses on the fundamentals of community organizing and nonviolent direct action, and can be requested by any organization, classroom, or department through the OML’s website.

Ultimately, it was Sam Brown ’17 who best captured the spirit of the group as they, among countless others, seek to effect change on Muhlenberg’s campus: “If five students who hardly know each other could organize 100 students to go to D.C., who knows what else is possible if we involve the other students on our campus?”

Photos courtesy of Kaitlin Errickson

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