Amelia Crowley
Contributing Writer
Crowds formed in downtown Wooster for the No Kings Protest on an unseasonably warm Saturday, Oct. 18. They began assembling at the corner of Liberty and Market Streets around 11:20 a.m., preparing for the protest — scheduled to start at noon. The participants held mostly homemade signs and waved American flags. The organizers showcased a large inflatable Stay Puft Marshmallow Man wearing a flag reading “Defend Democracy” as a bib in the intersection’s southeast corner. On the same corner as the inflatable, a table was set up to collect signatures for petitions, and across Market Street, organizers were collecting donations for a local food pantry.
The crowd grew as more people arrived leading up to the official start time of the protest. Some people wore costumes, ranging from politicized figures such as the Statue of Liberty to pop cultural touchstones such as Spider-Man or Cinderella. Many attendees chatted and socialized while holding signs, walking around or participating in chants. While most attendees were older, there were also middle- and college-aged participants.
By noon, the sidewalks were lined with people on all four corners of the intersection. Cars drove past continuously, many honking in support, with people waving or holding signs out of their windows. Over the course of the two-hour protest, many chants started, including “hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go,” “tell me what democracy looks like; this is what democracy looks like” and “the people united will never be defeated.”
Most participants were community members from Wooster and the surrounding areas, along with College of Wooster students, faculty and staff. The official count of attendance was 1,169 people, according to organizers. Lead organizer David Griffith said of the turnout, “this is awesome — I haven’t been this thrilled about something since I was [college-aged].” He also expressed that one of his motivations for organizing the protests in Wooster has been about the rule of law under the Trump administration.
“To adhere to constitutional norms is of extreme importance,” Griffith shared. “The list just keeps growing, every day something happens, and you can’t believe what’s going on — extrajudicial killings [for example].”
Another community member in attendance, Betsy Sheets, the current vice chair of the Wayne County Democratic Party, said that she has attended almost all of the protests that have taken place in Wooster this year. For her, it is “necessary that we all get out here and make it clear that we disagree with the current regime.”
College of Wooster students Claire Elsie ’27 and Madeline Eaton ’27 were also at the protest. Eaton expressed her concerns, saying, “We really want to be activists and show our voice. We’re [Eaton and Elsie] both Environmental Studies majors, so our success in our field is really important to us, and it looks like it could be less successful over the years if this administration continues.” Elsie added that “our futures are under threat.”
Another College of Wooster student in attendance was Gabe Jones ’28, who came downtown for the “great show of democracy that’s taking place.” He said that “knowing that other people are fighting for the same cause that I am and believe in the same cause that I do, it’s great and inspiring.”
Izzy Drake ’28 and Ava Stenger ’28 were also there with a group of students. Drake said that she felt it’s “very important to fight for people that don’t have the same privilege as us.” Stenger added that “coming down here gave me a lot of hope.” Other attendees included Terry Reeder, visiting assistant professor of religious studies and women’s, gender and sexuality studies, who was there in part to collect signatures to put Laura Sirot, professor of biology and co-chair of the department, on the ballot for Ohio state senator. She added that she was “very proud of the students in attendance for showing their support.”
Another faculty member in attendance was Evan Riley, associate professor of philosophy, who said that his motivations for coming were that he is “opposed to virtually everything [the Trump administration is] doing,” saying that “if you have to put a legalistic term on it, I’m really worried about due process and the obscene levels of corruption … I’m also worried about the environment and the future for my children and students.”
Brian Webb, director of sustainability at the College, was also in attendance, holding aloft a large American flag. He also helped to organize the Wooster Stand for Democracy efforts earlier in the year.
“The things that this administration has done are so unprecedented, so anti-American, so anti-democracy, are such a threat to so many people, and at this point, I think silence is complicity,” Webb said. “If you’re not speaking out against it, then you’re supporting it, so I’m here to speak out.”