UB Students Join in a Plan to March on D.C.

Don't underestimate Sarah Heynen's commitment to attend the March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, April 25.

"I have a final on (the following) Monday," the senior interdisciplinary social sciences and marketing major said, "but I'd rather go to this than graduate."

Heynen, the president of UB's Women's Center, will be one of about 10 members of the Center attending the rally, which is being coordinated by Planned Parenthood and co-sponsored by over 1,000 national organizations, including the NAACP and the National Organization for Women.

Planned Parenthood's local Director of Marketing and Communications, Amy White, estimates there will be about 30 UB students in all among the approximately 300 people from Western New York planning to march. Planned Parenthood believes over one million people will participate.

"We want to raise awareness for issues about women's health care, birth control access, reproductive health access, and access to research for reproductive health," White said. The march, in her view, will send a message to a presidential administration and Congress she deems "extremely hostile" to women's issues.

"You have to really pay attention to the women's vote this year," is the non-partisan message she hopes will be sent. "You have to really make sure that you are talking to us and our issues are important."

Jesslyn Holbrook, a sophomore psychology major and another Women's Center member going to Washington, agreed.

"People have to see that we care, that everybody's together," she said. "This isn't something that's going away, it's not like nobody's going to fight about it."

White feels many issues have created a climate in America that is threatening women's rights. Among them are the recent passage of the so-called partial birth abortion bill, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act and government funding of "abstinence-only" sexual education that doesn't teach about methods of contraception.

"That doesn't provide young people with adequate information to make intelligent choices," she said.

Issues of choice are the primary focus of the march, White believes, along with access to birth control and reproductive health. Birth control rights are a major concern of Alison Bellinger, a senior interdisciplinary social sciences major.

"I've always held pro-choice values," she said, "and I'm against the current attack on reproductive rights. I'm excited to be a part of something so huge."

White said the UB community has provided a lot of help in getting the word out about the march and is participating at a higher level than most area colleges.

"We're really happy with the support we've gotten from the university as far as the student groups and the different departments that we contacted," she noted.

Another part of the mission of the event, she added is to raise awareness and participation in a new generation.

"We're hoping to energize a new group of advocates and activists," she said.

Many women born in the '70s and afterward don't have an understanding of the history of women's rights, she believes.

That doesn't include Lauren Chmura, a freshman psychology major.

"I think so many people have forgotten what a struggle women have gone through to have all the rights we do have," Chmura said, "and that there's so many things we still have to fight for."

Although this is a march in support of women's rights, participants note that it is not a women-only march. A secondary objective of the demonstration is to show and promote respect for diversity and diverse opinions, according to White, and all supporters are welcome, she said.

The group from Buffalo will be leaving for Washington on Saturday night, April 24, and returning after the march, arriving back in Buffalo in the early hours of the following Monday.

Eileen Marutiak, a junior theatre and Spanish major, is making the trip a family one; her mother and sisters are joining her.

"My generation is the people ultimately affected by decisions the government is making, and we're not making them," she said. In her view, sexuality and women's health have become political issues. "I want my voice to be heard."

Melinda Wright, a freshman French and theatre major, had an even stronger view of the consequences women might face it their rights aren't protected.

"If they take away our right to choose pregnancy, that means they can take away our rights to other things, and suddenly the government is making our decisions for us," she said. "Then we're living in a dictatorship, not a democracy."

Some room is available on the bus, and White said Planned Parenthood will try to help anyone who wishes to attend. The UB Women's Center has also volunteered to try to help. Planned Parenthood's March hotline is 831-2200, extension 348.