A projected crowd of 250,000 people attended the New York City Women’s March on Saturday, January 21^st. The crowd walked together through the streets of Manhattan protesting President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The New York City Police Department was expecting a crowd of around 100,000 people when twice that many showed up. Participants in the march included mostly women, but supporting men walked as well. Some families walked together bringing along children of all ages. People aged from elementary school to senior citizens marched alongside one another to express their beliefs.

Attending the march was Pace University student Sofia DiPasquale, who marched for about two and half hours.

“It was so wonderful to see so many kids marching. There was a little girl marching in front of me with her mom and she was carrying a sign she had made,” DiPasquale said. “It was inspiring to see kids engaged in politics, especially because I definitely wasn’t thinking about it when I was their age.”

DiPasquale marched because she does not support a President who displays actions of racism, sexism, islamophobia, or ableism. She wanted to be around people who expressed the same feelings and positions on the new President.

The women’s and gender studies major felt the march was important because of the scale of its impact.

“There was a march in pretty much every major city in the world. I wanted to be a part of the largest collective protest in history. It was important for me to get out into the streets and show that I am not going to lie down and let my rights and the rights of other humans get taken away,” DiPasquale said.

The Pace student is not new to standing up for her beliefs and protested on the night after the election and for the black lives matter movement. She says there were a lot of first-time protesters at the women’s march, which is probably why there was less chanting than previous protests she attended.

“I really enjoyed being around people that felt the same way I did, people who cared enough to dedicate a big portion of their day to marching in the cold,” DiPasquale said.

DiPasquale hopes it made a positive effect on those watching and thinks the crowd as a whole made noise and got their point across.

“We got to say that we are here and we are not going anywhere for the next four years,” DiPasquale said.

Pace communications major Alexis Torres marched because she believes in equality for all men, women, and races. She attended the march alone and was inspired by all the women who came together.

“The march was peaceful and well orchestrated and put together. I marched alone because I was not marching to be with friends. It was for my own personal beliefs, so I was more focused on the cause than the people around me,” Torres said.

Torres believes that change will never happen unless there is consistency, and has participated in many anti-Trump protests this year.

“I marched because I am a minority in this country and also a woman. I felt the need to stand up for my rights. I think the march showed everyone that the country is more united than ever. We are still going to have to fight for a very long time, but we are all taking a stand,” Torres said.

Torres and DiPasquale marched for what they felt was right and just for the people of the United States of America. Alongside 250,000 other people marching through the New York City streets, they helped to make history in New York City’s largest protest.