12.4.19 - V103 I10
News
The Easterner -
3
Students spread messages of love as demonstrators return to campus
Group receives very different reaction during their second demonstration on campus
When anti-abortion activists arrived on campus Nov. 20, it appeared the scene on Nov. 7 might repeat itself. Last month, members of this same religious group were met with a much larger crowd of much angrier students. During the previous demonstration, a crowd of approximately 100 students formed near the protestors. The demonstrators were on campus for over three hours on Nov. 7 before they were escorted off by the police. But on Nov. 20, things went a bit differently. The demonstrators shouted their disapproving messages about abortion and the LGBTQ community. Some students shouted back at them. Police were spread out throughout the campus mall ensuring everyone’s safety. But the overall response from the student body was far different this time. “When we found out that … this group was coming back, we wanted to do something that was intentional and not give him attention,” ASEWU legislative affairs representative Mikayla Beeler said. “We thought that focusing it around hopefulness and loving would be a better approach.” Beeler, ASEWU President Key Baker and other ASEWU members ran back and forth from the PUB to the campus mall encouraging students to stop giving the demonstrators attention and instead go to the PUB NCR for a “positivity event.” During this demonstration, some students exchanged words with the demonstrators, but the efforts from Baker, Beeler and others seemed to keep the crowd outside from growing too much. Loud music in the background played its part in
Dylan Harris for The Easterner
DYLAN HARRIS Managing Editor
Counter-demonstrators hold up a trans pride flag during the second protest in two weks on EWU's Campus. drowning out the yelling as well. The “positivity event” included karaoke, voter registration opportunities and a poster that read, “What issues do you care about?” Beeler said that they wanted to give students a chance to express their opinions and be heard. Other students and student groups
chipped in to keep a more positive “The school, they can’t really do atmosphere. Members of the Black anything, so I think that having the Student Union made signs, some that read, positivity is a really good thing,” EWU “Free hugs,” others that had the names of student Jessica Holcomb said. “Because transgender people who have lost their there’s obviously a lot of people (that) lives in acts of are just going to anti-transgender be frustrated not violence. Nov. 20 being able to do marked the annual anything about Transgender Day that.” of Remembrance, The anti-abortion which prompted activists announced the latter signs. on social media “They were that they would be posting how we on EWU’s campus were an angry mob before the event, at Eastern and that - MIKAYLA BEELER, so police officers we were preaching ASEWU Legislative Affairs were able to make hate and that the it to campus LGBTQ+ community were just a hate sooner than they were able to on Nov. 7. mob,” EWU student Emonni Clemmons Fortunately, they didn’t have to do much said. “We decided to fight back with love, more than observe. so we got the ‘free hugs’ sign.” While today’s events didn’t escalate to the Clemmons said she is really proud of level they did on Nov. 7, they still had an impact how the students handled themselves on some of the students who were there. today. “They say things against LGBT and Keeping that positive attitude when abortion,” Holcomb said. “Obviously, you confronted with what many consider have free speech and you can do this, hateful rhetoric wasn’t easy for everyone, but it doesn’t get you anything to be however. hateful.”•
“We wanted to do
something that was intentional and not give him attention.
Dylan Harris for The Easterner
”
ASEWU President Key Baker hands out fliers for an event in the PUB.
www.TheEasterner.org
