Tufts students joined more than eight million people around the country to protest the Trump administration on March 28 as part of the third No Kings rally. The day marked the largest protest in American history with roughly 3,300 rallies nationwide, including 162 in Massachusetts and over 180,000 attendees at the protest on Boston Common.
Tufts’s new professional fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta, volunteered at the rally with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts to promote legislation on data privacy.
Members of PAD walked around Boston Common, spoke with locals about legislation surrounding data privacy and asked them to sign a petition addressed to Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, who both spoke at the protest.
Tufts Climate Action also hosted a sign-making event the day before the protest and worked alongside the Tufts Democrats, Voters of Tomorrow Boston and other local collegiate groups to organize a group of students to attend the rally on Boston Common.
Compared to the seven million in attendance at the second No Kings rally and the five million at the first, this protest was the largest yet and also attracted the most young people, which has been attributed in part to frustrations with U.S. military action in the Middle East.
David Seaton, president of the Tufts Democrats, argued that although Tufts students are angered by the war in Iran, their focus was more on social issues, especially given that the protest was held three days before Transgender Day of Visibility.
“I know students are really upset and angered by the war in Iran. That sentiment is felt across our Tufts Dems chapter,” Seaton said. “A lot of the energy at this particular protest from Tufts students was directed towards more social issues and not really towards foreign policy.”
According to a member of PAD, the organization felt a lot of excitement for their volunteer effort at the protest. PAD had 16 members in attendance, their largest turnout for any community service event yet.
Juliana Amorosi, the campaigns and actions co-lead at Tufts Climate Action, views protests differently, believing that it is particularly important that students participate because every person counts.
“I think the protests are really important, especially for students, to go to,” Amorosi said. “I feel like it’s an important sacrifice to make for a couple of hours every once in a while, because it’s showing that you’re upset and you’re not going to stand for things that are happening.”
Seaton also noted the importance, particularly for young people, of showing up for protests. He stressed the need for more progressive leaders, an effort the Tufts Democrats have been working towards through their endorsement of Markey and by collecting signatures for him at the rally.
“There was so much energy for Senator Markey’s campaign and trying to get progressive leadership in Washington,” Seaton said. “We, as active Democrats on campus and in the Boston area, feel our voices really matter in this moment, especially as young people.”
