A massive crowd began gathering in downtown Reno at around 11 a.m. on Oct. 18 as part of the national protest movement No Kings Day to protest the Trump administration’s policies and beliefs. The event began to dissipate just past 1 p.m..
Just like several other cities across the U.S., Reno was the setting of a protest that voices frustration against the Trump administration organized by local activists and politicians such as Board of County Commissioners Chair Alexis Hill, Nevada State Assemblymembers Erica Roth, Natha Anderson, and Selena La Rue Hatch, and Nevada State Senator Angela D. Taylor.
The event’s organizers delivered heavy speeches criticizing the Trump administration. Speeches covered topics like immigration, women’s reproductive rights, worker’s rights, and healthcare, and how such issues relate to the American people on local, state, and national levels.
Erica Roth is the state assemblymember whose district covers the University of Nevada, Reno and surrounding areas. Her speech tied the Trump administration’s policies on immigration to local education.
“We’re attacking our immigrant communities, our students, our universities, here in our backyard. We’re seeing the unfolding at UNR as they go after the UndocuPack program and young people in this community that are looking towards their future,” Roth said.
The presence of UNR students and student organizations’ at the No Kings protest wasn’t limited to a mere mention in a speech. There was a notable amount of university students actively participating in the protest by marching in the crowd and chanting.
First year UNR student Maya Dutton believes that the protest can be an outlet for students to foster community amongst each other. “I think it brings a lot of people together–so there’s a connection. You meet a lot of people and I think it’s just a good environment to meet people in,” she said.
An estimated 18,000 people attended Reno’s No Kings protest. At mass protests, some could argue that there is potential for harm. The Trump administration referred to the current protests happening in Portland as “violent radical left terrorism.”
One arrest was reported by the Reno Police Department concerning a participant at the event with an outstanding felony and misdemeanor warrant. Law enforcement did not report any other acts of violence or unlawful activity at the protest.
UNR student Brittany Ferriolio said she appreciated the non-violent nature of it.
“…they [event speakers] stressed like ‘hey if there is hecklers we’re just going to welcome them, it’s not going to be violent’ and I was very happy about that. A lot of people think ‘oh! you oppose the government then you must be violent’. No, we don’t need to be violent towards people that disagree with us. That’s democracy,” she said.
The intersection between student life, local life, and life as an activist was discussed by speakers and protestors frequently. Speaker Veronica Frenkel called upon Reno residents to help one another, saying, “Reach out to your neighbors who may be living in fear. Offer them a ride, pick up groceries, accompany them to their immigration hearings, and always events. Let them know you’re here to help, that you care, and that you stand with them.”
Frenkel then kickstarted a chant that rang loud throughout the crowd.
“The people, united, will never be defeated!” she chanted.
When it comes to how education and activism intersect, UNR student Brittany Ferriolio says that the two should go hand in hand with one another.
“It definitely should be integrated into schools because we are in college. We’re constantly affected by the government. We are constantly affected by government rules. A lot of us are under FAFSA which I am. A lot of us need financial aid or come from bad homes. Some of us aren’t even from here,” Ferriolio said.
UNR student Isabella Brady offers another perspective. “I think that if you have advocacy you should advocate for yourself and withhold that. And so if it’s intersecting with school, obviously focus on school but you can still advocate with school stuff like hold civil protests or organize stuff at your school so that you can balance both at once,” she said.
Student organizations at UNR that engage in political activism, such as the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), had members in attendance at the protest.
The group’s general chapter, the Northern Nevada Democratic Socialists of America (NNDSA), were tabling at No Kings. When asked about the presence of YDSA and other student activists at this event, a member of the NNDSA, Eric, expressed his thoughts on the idea.
“That’s a really good thing to see, because those are the people who are going to be active and those are the people who are going to, you know, make the change that we need in this country. I mean, the turn out for the vote is something that we talked about all the time. It’s something that was lacking last election and the results we got were clear with that. So I’m really happy to see, you know, YDSA, the young people out,” he said.
Ella Strobo can be reached via email at ellastrobo@gmail.com.
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