Sophomore Maggie Morey was one of the 500,000 people to walk in the Women’s March in Washington D.C. The Women’s March on Washington was a political rally to promote women’s rights, racial equality and LGBTQ rights that took place on Jan. 21, 2017.

“The march was really inspiring. I know this is a difficult situation for a lot of people, and I think it gave everybody hope and a voice,” Morey said. “A lot of people think that Trump being president is going to ruin their lives but I think the march made people think that maybe it won’t be so bad. I think that if there were more than half of a million people who showed up to D.C. to fight for women’s rights, then there is hope for equality.”

According to Morey she had never seen a crowd that large before stand and fight together.

“I was  amazed at the number of people that showed up. It was a huge sea of pink,” Morey said. “I got to see people from all over the world come together and stand up for one cause and it was amazingly powerful.”

The sights that were seen during the march were “incredible” and “unimaginable”.

“One of the most amazing things I saw was when I got off the Metro and I walked up the stairs and the crowds I saw on the streets were just incredible. I can’t believe how many people showed up. It’s hard to describe how impressive the sights were. There were so many people from different backgrounds and races standing together,” Morey said.

Morey was inspired by her mother, Amanda Trefethen, and her desire to fight for her beliefs to fly all the way to D.C. to participate in the march.

“My mom invited me to go with her and she is a teacher and she’s really into feminism, and she’s a huge inspiration of mine so I decided to go with her. I really wanted to be a part of history and stand up for what I believe in. I think women’s rights are important and it’s an experience that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life. I wanted to be a part of changing this world,” Morey said.

Trefethen’s work teaching philosophy influenced her decision to march in D.C. rather than in Los Angeles.

“I teach a lot of feminist theory and this march in particular was designed to protect women’s rights and equality and I thought it was important for us to go and participate,” Trefethen said. “And the march in Los Angeles was huge, but to go to D.C. the day after the inauguration felt necessary.”

Before the marching took place, the various men and women listened to speeches promoting equality for all from people around the globe.

“We spent an hour hearing women from all parts of the world speak about the importance of standing up for women’s rights,” Morey said. “It was just an entire sea of people in pink listening to these people speak. They inspired me because there were people speaking from different types of religions and cultures, so it was cool to see people from all around the world to come together and support one cause. They spoke about some scary things that were happening around the world and it was really eye-opening.”

According to Morey, her favorite memory was not during the rally itself, but the day after.

“My mom and I were in a museum and a black man came up to us and asked if we had participated in the march, and we told him we had. He said he wanted to give us a huge thank you for fighting for equality for everyone and marching when he couldn’t because he had work,” Morey said.

Trefethen urges girls to stand up for their rights and to fight for equality.

“The time has come for women to fight for equality,” Trefethen said. “We think that we’re going to get the rights and equality we deserve and protect them, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen, so we have to stand up and make a demand. There’s no time for women to not assert their place anymore.”