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Local Students Among Thousands at D.C. Women's March

Crammed into every seat on their white coach bus, Augustana students and faculty made the 30-hour trip from the Mississippi River to the National Mall for the Women's March on Washington, D.C. 

Among them was junior student Caitlin Lebel, who had never been to a protest."I have a feeling it's going to be very tense there, but at the same time, there's going to be a lot of camaraderie among the marchers."

Junior Aaron Hollatz was one of the men who traveled with the group. He says you don't have to be female to march for women's rights.

"Collectively, we are part of a problem, and we can either...do nothing about that or choose to fix it."

When the bus arrived in Washington, the students made their way to a rally just one block from the Capitol Building. From their spot in a crowd of hundreds of thousands, students heard speakers like America Ferrera and activist Gloria Steinem.

After they marched from Independence Avenue to the White House, senior Marina Deligiannis took in her day of sign-carrying and slogan-yelling.

"When you think of marches, you think of violence, which we didn't see any of at all. It was very peaceful."

When the Augustana group arrived back on campus Sunday morning, they were exhausted. But they felt their messages of equality rang loud and clear in the ears of the new government.  
 

I am currently a senior at Augustana College, majoring in Multimedia Journalism and Mass Communication with a minor in Creative Writing. I serve as the General Manager for WAUG.fm, Augustana's online student radio station and have worked as an intern and DJ at Studstill Media Group. I report on local news for WVIK and am honored and excited to be a part of the news team. I hope to pursue a career in radio broadcasting and an eventual master's degree in English or Communications.