Students and alumnus participate in international Women’s March movement

With their fists in the air and pride in their hearts, several TCHS students were amongst the Women’s March participants who stood together in the support and defense of protecting a number of human rights on Jan. 21.
While many other students were getting ready for Winter Formal, Senior Madison Lum and Freshman Kennedy Lum chose to be alongside the 40,000 protestors at the San Diego Women’s March that took part in the fight for women’s rights, immigration reform, LGBTQ rights and more.
“It was really empowering to see so many women and men all come together to march and work as a unity for our rights,” K. Lum said. “Teens, adults, little kids and their grandparents all held signs or walked peacefully with the groups.”
The Lum sisters believed that they should do whatever it took to protect the rights of their fellow women, and felt that missing the school dance was worth being able to march with signs saying, “women’s rights equals human rights.”
“The energy we felt during the march was very empowering because everybody was there for each other,” M. Lum said. “The march was an amazing experience, and I felt privileged to be able to voice my opinion along with so many others with similar views.”
In Downtown Los Angeles, Junior Hailey Fawk departed the train station, in awe of the excitement and power she felt as she joined the rally. With a poster that said “proud daughter of a nasty woman” in her hands, Fawk stood with the 750,000 people who united that day.
“A lot of the signs I saw were funny, but some were extremely powerful and had really cool messages,” Fawk said. “It was inspiring to see and realize that so many people cared about their rights.”
The Women’s March attracted an overwhelming response to its cause, with millions of people worldwide eager to have their voices be heard. After his personal experience with the march in Los Angeles, Junior Alex Nguyen believes that the attention that the campaign is receiving is powerful enough to change opinions.
“I definitely feel that the march will open the public’s eyes to women’s rights, as well as all the other issues that are out there,” Nguyen said. “The march did a great job of diverting America’s mainstream attention towards our current and important matters.”
The Women’s March national campaign is continuing their fight for human rights with a new campaign launch called 10 Actions 100 Days. Every ten days, supporters will take action on an issue they feel strongly about through steps they can find on the Women’s March website.
(Photo Courtesy: Bailee Weisz)