By Maddie Naeve

The Iowa City Ped Mall was flooded by a sea of pink and rainbow on Saturday, Jan. 20. Women from all kinds of backgrounds joined together to profess their unity. Among these women were sophomores Annie Leopold, Megan Zobac, and Caroline Voss.

“We started the march with a speaker then we began walking and chanting for a couple of blocks,” said Leopold, “We all walked together as if we were a community, and that was my favorite part.”

Zobac was inspired to take part in the protest because of last year’s march after the Trump election. The unity and empowerment among the women involved caught her eye and Zobac knew that this was something she wanted to do.

“I was very impressed how many people took part in the march, it was very big,” said Voss, “I recommend taking part in something like this because it was a great experience and showed me a side of life I have never seen before.”

The march consisted of hundreds of people that felt unempowered or unheard. According to the sophomores it was very interesting to be in a crowd of people where everyone felt accepted and so empowered.

“I think that with what is going on now, women don’t feel that they have a place. During the march women had a place, and they were empowered to believe their opinions are valid,” said Zobac. “The march really inspired me to not only share my opinion on social media but to stand up and do something about it.”

Taking part in the march inspired Zobac to take an extra step and she got a group of girls together to run a feminine products drive for Waypoint. Waypoint is a shelter for victims of domestic violence, homelessness, and offers affordable child care. The drive is taking place until May 5, and everyone can donate products in all of the Mount Vernon school offices, Gary’s, or Brother’s Market.