USC students participate in Women’s March

USC students, faculty and alumni joined protesters marching through downtown Los Angeles for the third annual Women’s March Saturday. They carried homemade signs that read “Jewish Women Are Powerful,” “#TheFutureIsBlue” and “Feminism Is Big Dick Energy,” among others.

Speakers like women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, who represents some victims of former campus gynecologist George Tyndall, L.A. city councilmembers Nury Martinez and Monica Rodriguez and actress Laverne Cox celebrated the increased number of women in Congress while calling for equal pay and reproductive rights, among other issues.

Members of USC student organizations, including Student Assembly for Gender Empowerment, Environmental Student Assembly, USC College Democrats, Trojan Advocates for Political Progress and Residential Education at USC attended the march, which saw over 600,000 people fill the streets of downtown, according to a Facebook post from Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Amelia Montooth, a senior majoring in international relations global business, said she appreciated the diversity among the march’s participants.

“I really love the display of unity and, hopefully, intersectionality that would include both Jewish and Muslim women who are oppressed in different ways,” Montooth said. “I think I am seeing that a lot in the women who are here, even if it is not really seen in the leadership.”

The march’s leaders have received criticism in the past regarding issues of anti-Semitism. Tamika Mallory and two other original founders of the march were criticized for allegedly supporting Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, who has made numerous anti-Semitic and racist remarks, according to reports by The New York Times. The Times also reported that a founding member was allegedly pushed out of the organization for anti-Semitic reasons.

Some Jewish students at the march said they considered not going, but ultimately decided to voice their support for the movement.

“This year I felt it was really important to come and support my Jewish women,” said Assaf Manor, a freshman majoring in theatre and political science. “Because the L.A. Women’s March made such an effort to distance itself from all of those problems and publicly denounce anti-Semitism, I felt like it was a good place to come and show my support.”

Out of 34 Women’s March chapters around the United States, 23 have officially separated themselves from Women’s March Inc., the movement’s parent organization. Last month, Women’s March California issued a statement saying it “does not share leadership, structure or funding with Women’s March Inc.”

Emily Wulf, a freshman majoring in environmental studies, said that though some of the founders of the march were controversial, attending has more to do with showing solidarity with the women marching.

Wulf said the Women’s March was a perfect opportunity for USC students to demonstrate their interest in activism. She also said she believes the culture of activism and social justice on campus reflects a minimal effort.

“For me, I feel like [the] social justice presence on campus has always remained very surface level and pseudo-knowledgeable,” Wulf said. “You see a lot of people who try to remain politically active, but they do it in the bare minimum way.”

Maria Camacho, a freshman majoring in international relations, said the Women’s March helped her find an outlet to strengthen her involvement with activism.

“I think I’ve been desperately looking for some sense of solidarity, whether it be my identity as a woman, as a Latina woman or as a queer Latina woman,” Camacho said. “I’m just trying to find a community that I can stand behind and rally behind … just because I feel like there’s been a lack of that.”

Camacho said she has not been able to easily find a sense of solidarity among people who are social justice-oriented on campus and that “slacktivism,” or lazy activism, is apparent within the student body. At protests like that against conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s appearance on campus in October, Camacho said a small number of students turn out and that they often lack a cohesive message.

“The problem with USC is that you have to look very deeply to find the communities that you want,” Camacho said. “USC is not notoriously known for it’s very outspoken mannerisms, or dealing with these sorts of issues.”

Montooth said though the majority of USC’s population does not actively participate in protests, she believes that open discussion takes place on an individual level.

“I see a lot of individual optimism, which is good and bad,” Montooth said. “I do think I see a lot of open discussions. And even though we’re in L.A., … I do see opinions from all over the spectrum on each side of everything.”

School of Dramatic Arts professor Mike Stutz, who attended the Women’s March with a group of activists painted blue called the “Blue Wave,” said he thinks it’s important for students to use their voices.

“[Students] are the future of this country, to state the obvious,” Stutz said. “Get involved now and you understand what a difference you can make. I think the saddest thing out there is someone who thinks they have no effect on the world around them.”