By Dan FletcherThe Daily Northwestern
In the 1980s, Rene Jovel’s mother received legal amnesty in the United States as an immigrant from El Salvador. In Chicago on Tuesday, he spoke before thousands looking for the same opportunity.
Jovel was one of more than 30 members from Alianza and Peace Project’s Students for Economic Justice who joined the more than 150,000 protesters in downtown Chicago advocating for a change in policy to bring citizenship to immigrants.
“The only reason I’m here studying at (Northwestern) is because she was able to become a citizen,” said the Weinberg sophomore. “Something important needs to happen now so others can have the same opportunity.”
Jovel, the Latino studies chairman for Alianza, said he decided to speak when organizers of the pre-march rally at Union Park were looking for students to address the protesters. He said he was impressed by the dedication of the crowd.
“(Northwestern students) skipped classes, and that’s not something we usually do,” he said. “But others had to skip work and could lose their jobs. I’m impressed by their bravery.”
The rally lasted nearly nine hours and was part of a national effort to protest recent immigration policies, including deportation raids and a proposed wall along the Mexican border.
Outgoing Alianza president Sonia Hart said she was encouraged by the rally’s atmosphere.
“It’s an awesome display of solidarity and activism,” the SESP junior said. “It’s the type of peaceful protest you don’t get to see on this scale all the time.”
Hart said the rally’s numbers were personally reassuring, reinforcing her sense of Latino community and identity. However, she said the variety of marchers from different ethnic, economic and age groups was perhaps more meaningful.
“It really defies a lot of stereotypes to be in the crowd in an atmosphere like that,” she said.
Weinberg freshman Carla Argueta said the rally’s mission struck close to home for her as well. She said she had family members who are directly affected by immigration laws and was happy with the show of support.
Argueta said the rally’s heavy emphasis on youth participation was impressive.
“The biggest impression I had is that youth can make a difference,” she said. “There were thousands of people marching together for the same cause. If you believe in something and organize it, you can make a difference.”
Sarah Levy went to the rally as part of Peace Project. The Medill junior said while immigrant rights don’t affect her personally, she still thought it was important to go.
“Activists need to stand together in solidarity for causes that don’t affect them directly,” she said. “It’s important. These issues all fit together.”
Levy said the event had an atmosphere unlike other rallies she’s attended.
“Latinos made up the largest percentage of people at the rally,” she said. “There’s a lot of energy and passion that stems from their culture and the fact that this is their lives at stake.”
This energy was strengthened by the force of the protesters’ message and the show of support, Levy said.
“It’s easier to march and not say anything,” Levy said. “It’s harder to get hundreds of thousands of people in the street, marching together and saying, ‘We aren’t afraid of you.'”
CNN.com contributed to this report.
Reach Dan Fletcher at [email protected].
