By Sophie Hefter
Circulation Editor
Mira Costa students made their voices heard on Saturday during the Los Angeles Women’s March that took place from Pershing Square to City Hall.
Costa students joined about 750,000 others from the greater L.A. area for the march, which aimed to coordinate a unified movement that demanded the protection of human rights for all, according to the Women’s March website. About 110 Costa students took buses from the school’s campus to Pershing Square through a transportation system that Manhattan Beach parent and co-founder of South Bay Cares Kamala Horwitz created specifically to encourage student participation in the march.
“We wanted to become engaged and find a way to resist some of the policies of the new president on issues such as women’s reproductive rights, LGBT rights and the environment,” Horwitz said.
Photos: Los Angeles Women’s March from Pershing Square to City Hall
Over two million people participated in sister marches across the nation and world in approximately 700 locations. The L.A. event included speeches from community members and politicians such as Congresswoman Nanette Barragan and pop singer Miley Cyrus.
“My sole purpose is to support and show my love for everyone in this world,” sophomore Charlotte Samuels said. “With all of the negativity around the [presidential] campaign, I think that a little love and support is what everyone needs.”
Throughout the event, participants carried flags and held up signs to show their support. Signs included phrases such as “My Body, My Choice,” “Make America Kind Again” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun(damental) Human Rights.”
In addition, marchers filled the streets with chants advocating equality in regard to gender and sexual orientation. Junior Liam Cook attended the event in order to show his support for a cause that unified the country and the world, he said. He created a poster with the phrase “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights.”
“It was great that so many people attended the march as well as so many of my peers,” Cook said. “I am beyond glad that I had the opportunity to participate in such an important and historical event.”
Juniors Renee Fournell and Lily Raffety, senior Daly Raffety and Vistamar High School junior Jessica Horwitz were also among several other students who created their own posters for the march.
“I chose my specific poster, ‘Fight Like A Girl,’ since I feel like it defies a lot of the stereotypes around gender currently,” Fournell said.
In addition to participating in the L.A. march, a number of Costa students travelled to Washington D.C., including sophomore Isabella Papadimitriou, who marched alongside approximately 500,000 others.
“I wanted to go to the [Washington] D.C. march because I felt it would have a higher intensity compared to the L.A. march,” Papadimitriou said. “Plus, I got to go to the capital of the United States, which is huge. This march really gave us women a chance to stand up for what we believe in.”
Visit the official Women’s March website for more information
The march created a positive environment in order for students to display their beliefs, Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale said.
“It’s important to be an advocate on issues and in order to do so, you have to do it in the way that’s best,” Dale said. “If this march makes a statement against some type of issue and you’re passionate about that, then that’s what you have to do.”
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