Natalie McCallum's Participant Observation

Participant observation:

On March 4^th, 2014, I participated in a protest on campus. This event allowed students and faculty to support their beliefs while marching on campus. March forth on March Fourth did not specify what one had to protest, it was a way to get people fight for what they believed in. We marched around campus along Shaw Avenue, through different departments, and covered a wide range of places students would be. We started in the Free Speech area at 2 p.m. and stopped marching around 3:00. Campus was not very crowded the most crowded areas were Shaw and the Free Speech area. The students who watched us were taking pictures and stopped to stare at our signs and us. I was happy they stopped because that meant that they were looking at what we had to say.

            The objects involved were picket signs. We all were able to create our own sign that represented the idea we were protesting for. I wrote a sign that supported equality for all. It was interesting to see how eclectic the signs ended up. One student was protesting to save the Lemurs.

Those protesting looked like normal students most of them were 18-23 years old. There were a few faculty and older students who were participating. All of us were wearing casual clothes and comfortable walking shoes. All the participants were extremely supportive of one another and interested in what each other had to say. I feel like I learned from others and the causes they were supporting.

            I learned about sweatshops and the clothing brands who still use them, and the ones that don’t. I also learned that lemurs are endangered and a film about the issue is coming out soon. Many conversations occurred around us, all of them had to do with social issues. Everyone was passionate and knowledgeable on the subjects that they supported. The ultimate goal of this protest was to expose multiple causes and exercise our rights to free speech. I felt that this protest went well and that we all were able to expose the causes we supported to students on campus.