Students walk to celebrate Ruth Bader Ginsburg and all she'd done to empower women
The Women's March
Over the weekend the field hockey team was invited by Aishana Chakraborty to join in a walk organized by her and her friends to celebrate Ruth Bader Ginsburg and all she'd done to empower women. The walk began with a brief speech from the junior girls - Kate, Sophie, Aishani, and Hallie - who gave a brief summary of RBG's numerous achievements. Then, the crowd set out, in their masks, accompanied by a couple families, several dogs, and a policeman in his car. When they reached road crossings, he'd turn on his flashers and block the way till the marchers had safely crossed. They marched downwards Warson towards Clayton, eventually curving back around.
"I really appreciate that those girls set it up since RBG deserves to be celebrated for her fierce tenacity and all that she's done" - Ananya Radhakrishnan '21
Below is a conversation between Kate, Sophie, and Aishani with more information on why they felt compelled to honor RBG with a walk and how the event went.
What inspired you to do this? / How did you get started?
Sophie: The night RBG passed away, we all immediately started texting each other. We were all in low-spirits because of the loss of someone who had one so much for women's rights. We decided we needed to do something to remember her, and a walk seemed like a great way to get a group together.
Kate: Like what Sophie said, this was almost a spur of the moment decision that we made out of frustration and the need to do something for RBG. We all got on Zoom that night to figure all the details out, and the planning almost felt scary, because there were so many unexpected obstacles and complications that we never saw coming. It was really nerve-wracking and exciting on the night we sent the email to Dr. Roth to tell her about our idea.
What was most rewarding about this?
Aishani: For all of us, the pandemic has brought challenges to our community, and as a result things just haven’t been the same at MICDS. That being said, it was great for our friends, families, alumni, teachers, team members, and coaches to be able to gather to celebrate the life of an important leader in human rights and a feminist icon.
How do you think this made an impact on the MICDS community?
Aishani: To the many who joined us in the walk and supported us in the organization process, it was clear that they understood the importance of celebrating Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s significance to our culture and our country
. To our larger MICDS community, we hope that even if they weren’t able to attend the walk, they were able to spend some time to discuss or reflect on RBG’s legacy and the progress America will continue to see in the causes she worked tirelessly to advance.
What was the goal for this, what were you hoping to get out of it?
Kate: There were many factors that we had to consider when figuring out what our message would be while walking. At first, we wanted to organize a march, but later, we came to realize that if we really wanted to conform with RBG’s legacy, a peaceful walk would be much more constructive. We didn’t believe a march would properly celebrate RBG and women’s rights due to its political implications - feminism and equity are not political concepts: they are civil rights that should go undisputed here in the United States. By walking, people within the community can do something together, at a greater impact, to honor RBG without feeling pressured by controversial political views that would detract from our original intentions.
Do you have any plans for the future?
Kate: After contacting the Mayor and Police Department of Ladue, we ultimately came to the decision to proceed with the walk with minimum school assistance. Realistically, we were recommended to host the event on MICDS campus rather than around Ladue. However, since we came up with the idea individually, we wanted to see it through independently as well, especially after going so far to contact the Police Department and the Mayor. However, we’re definitely open to doing something more collective taking place on MICDS campus!
Our police escort kindly made sure we were not broken up by traffic!
Post Author: Community Service Committee Rep Happy Phatak
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