Jan. 21 National Women's March attended by OC staff

In the shadow of the recent presidential election, The National Women’s March held in Washington D.C. on Jan. 21 gave people still looking for change an outlet to express those emotions.

Professor Cynthia Noyes was one of many people who traveled to D.C. to stand with hundreds of thousands of women all looking for change. The New York Daily News estimated 500,000 on the National Mall, but few sources would speculate on the numbers. CNN reported that more than 250,000 tickets were sold on the Metro system that morning.

Noyes’ journey to the Women’s March began with a two-day bus trip, along with Associate Professor of Health and Human Performance Nancy Van Hoozier, and adjunct Skyler Breeze. The bus dropped them off right in the action of the march.

Noyes says that one of the things that made this march of greater significance then many of the marches before them was the turnout. “The sheer size of this march made it significant. There were 200,000 signed up before the march, it ended up being well over 500,000 in the end,” Noyes said.

The numbers were not isolated to Washington though, with thousands of women marching globally it made the impact much more significant.

“This was not just ‘one person’s’ march. There was an intersectionality and success in everyone marching for everything,” Noyes said.

Looking back on the trip now Noyes said that her experience was “great.”

“I felt really empowered, and supported. I didn’t feel alone, and I didn’t feel like I was in a bubble either. I was not a lone ranger; that was reinforcing.”

Marches were held all across the nation, including Lansing, where the Lansing State Journal said more than 8,000 gathered, including other Olivet staff and students.

“We cannot sit still after the march; we always have to consider our next steps to organize and reorganize,” Noyes said.