The “Hands Off!” protest, part of a nationwide set of protests, took place in downtown Corvallis on Saturday, drawing hundreds of participants who lined the streets along Northwest Fourth Street, waving at vehicles and chanting.
According to an article by the Times, the “Hands Off” protest was organized to protest against both President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The title “Hands Off” symbolizes a perceived need for protection of individuals’ rights from the government’s new proposed policies as well as potentially discriminatory actions towards certain groups.
Among the attendees were third-year students at Oregon State University, Avery Westbrook and Fiona Farmer both majoring in kinesiology, and Clara Earle, who is majoring in education.
“I am here for my future students,” said Earle, who wants to become an educator. “There’s a lot of laws that have been put in place recently that directly affect my job and my future kids’ jobs and education. I’m mad and I’m sad, so I’m here.”
Westbrook said she was initially unaware of the protest happening downtown.
“I didn’t see anything about (the “Hands Off!” protests) on social media,” Westbrook said. “Even people who I would typically see posting (about) something like this (didn’t post anything).”
Among the crowd was a first-year student who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of facing deportation.
“Ever since the election, I have been a little bit disappointed with my generation in our lack of putting ourselves out there and recognizing the power that we hold,” the student said.
Earle expressed concern about the lack of political discourse on campus, particularly regarding issues that directly affect education majors at OSU.
“I would appreciate more talking about stuff that is happening. In my major, a lot of (Trump’s recent policies) directly affect us and there has been nothing about what Trump is doing to the education system,” Earle said.
Farmer emphasized the need for these issues to be addressed in the classroom. “I think maybe talking about it more in classes. I think sometimes teachers are worried about offending people. But we should be offending people,” Farmer said.
Westbrook addressed the feelings of disconnection that herself and some of her peers may experience during political discussions.
“I feel like we’re just in our own little bubble and it’s sometimes hard to look outside and see what’s really going on and how people are being affected,” Westbrook said.
Despite the protest’s large turnout of over 1000 people, according to Gazette Times, the students were disappointed by the absence of more of their peers.
“I think it’s sad that there’s not more students here,” Farmer said, “I really thought that there would be (more student attendees). I see so many people on our campus and in our school talking about stuff like (politics) and posting about it,” Westbrook said..
“It is so easy to hide behind a screen,” Earle said.
