UPDATED: March 27, 2018 at 6:49 p.m.

As she stepped off the bus that had left Syracuse University at 2:30 a.m. Saturday and arrived in Washington, D.C. at about 9 a.m., Diasia Robinson walked into one of the largest protests in United States history.

At a Student Association meeting earlier this month, Robinson — a co-chair of SA’s diversity affairs committee — and Andrew Fowler, president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council at SU, asked for funding to transport SU students to the March for Our Lives, a protest planned in the capital following the violent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead in mid-February.

Fowler and Robinson were initially met with mixed responses.

SA members said they were excited about the idea, but unsure about logistics. By the end of the meeting, and after some debate, SA’s assembly approved the funding for four buses: two for the march in Washington, D.C. and two for the one in Syracuse.

In the end, three buses — an additional bus was approved by SA after the initial meeting — made the trip to D.C. In total, 150 tickets were made available for students. Every ticket was sold.

The idea for the trip came after students reached out and showed interest in March for Our Lives, said Robinson, an international relations major.

After receiving emails and text messages detailing SU students’ desire to go to the rally, Robinson, Fowler and representatives from Democracy Matters came together to plan the trip.

SA Vice President Angie Pati and SA adviser Sarah Cappella also helped organize the bus ride. Robinson said she was not surprised at all when she learned the trip had sold out. But she was still happy to hear the news.

“I knew a lot of people wanted to come to D.C. and be in such a historic place,” she added.

Robinson said she also had a personal interest in the trip.

“After hearing about what happened at Parkland, I too had this sort of frustration in me,” she said.

She said she feels gun control and school safety is an important topic to talk about.

The fact that it was an event for students organized by students felt “so powerful,” Robinson added.

The planning of the trip was somewhat of an involved process, Robinson said, because of the size of the event and the number of students who wanted to participate.

“We wanted to make sure it was organized as precisely as possible, so that everything would go smoothly and everyone would have a good time while fighting for something they believe in,” she said.

She added, though, that the bus trip taken to the 2017 Women’s March provided a source of reference that helped the process along.

There were some concerns about Saturday’s crowd control, safety and traffic, but knowing that similar bus trips had been successful in the past helped SA to plan around those issues, Robinson said.

During March for Our Lives, Robinson said she felt a sense of fullness, seeing others who were as passionate about the issue as she was. Media reports indicated more than 800,000 people attended the rally on Saturday.

“I just like seeing different types of people, who are really from all over, come out to support this effort. It was a great crowd to be a part of,” she added.

Watching Martin Luther King Jr.’s 9-year-old granddaughter speak on a stage on Pennsylvania Avenue was one moment from Saturday that particularly stood out for Robinson, she said.

Robinson added that she thought it was powerful that someone so young was participating in the event, and overall was impressed by the number of younger kids who spoke about the topic of gun violence.

The buses arrived back in Syracuse at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday. Robinson said that, on the ride back, many students expressed a desire to stay in D.C. longer. As for herself, Robinson said she was encouraged to continue supporting the movement.

“It shows that you can never be too young to make a difference,” she said.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, the person who helped Diasia Robinson present a proposal for Student Association to fund buses to the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. was misidentified. Andrew Fowler helped Robinson present the proposal. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on March 25, 2018 at 7:36 pm

Contact India: irmiragl@syr.edu