After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Activism Club president Benjamin Goguen did not stay silent. 

Working alongside the organization Women’s March, Goguen and the members of the Activism Club took it upon themselves to spread word about the protests and encourage everyone eligible to vote. 

On June 24, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark legislation passed to make abortion legal and available in all 50 states. Immediately after, 18 states issued some form of an abortion ban, removing the legality of an abortion under most circumstances. North Carolina falls under such category, placing a ‘gestational limit’ on abortions, actively banning all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

“We had to bring the Activism Club out to protest for a second year because of how important this year’s election is,” Goguen said. “Last year, the goal of the protest was to advocate in support of Roe V. Wade, but now, the goal is to advocate in support of electing leaders who want to protect reproductive rights.”

The push to vote is a major tenet in the reproductive rights movement. “Voting is so important.” Goguen said. “We the people get to decide who we want leading us, and we need to elect people with us in mind.”

Voting is much more than a quick election every couple of years. It directly affects us, as teenagers, and if you can vote, you should. 

Women’s March is a women-led organization that arranges more than  400 marches and protests nationwide. This year, the marches were called “Women’s Wave,” a metaphor for electing feminist politicians into office throughout the election season. 

The demonstration started at noon on Oct. Sat. 8, after a quick introduction and memo from Rachel Hunt, the democratic candidate for the North Carolina State Senate. Afterwards, club member Madison Kreutzer was given an open mic. She confidently spoke to the eager crowd, pushing people to vote after reading a poem on Women’s rights. 

Shortly after, the walk commenced. Starting and returning near Romare Bearden Park, the protesters circled uptown Charlotte, their chants echoing off the buildings that surrounded them. 

“The march was an overall success,” Goguen said. “We had more than 100 people show up, and some news outlets went out to film and report. I talked to people from Raleigh and Asheville who traveled to Charlotte for the march. Everything went well, but we won’t know how successful our actions are until we see the election results.”

As the Activism Club continues its fight for reproductive rights and gender and racial equality, Goguen says that he wants to be a voice of support for all people. 

“Activism Club’s mission is to be supportive of everyone. We advocate for issues people want to talk about. With around 75 members this year, we all want to support and protest any issue we’re approached about.”