Many Northeastern students will be traveling to Washington, D.C. later this week to join thousands of protesters in the Women’s March on Washington and other inauguration-related protests against President-elect Donald J. Trump.

Northeastern’s Feminist Student Organization (FSO) and Strong Women, Strong Girls (SWSG) chapter rented vans to transport approximately 75 Northeastern students, mostly women, who largely oppose Trump and his proposed policies.

“[Trump], as a person, epitomizes misogyny and also violence against women in his history and his character and his administration’s policies in defunding Planned Parenthood,” said Katy Davis, the outreach coordinator of SWSG and a senior majoring in human services and international affairs.

A 15-person van of FSO and SWSG members will leave Boston Thursday night to arrive for inauguration festivities and protests Friday. An additional four vans will leave Friday to arrive in D.C. for the Women’s March Saturday.

Approximately 250,000 people said they will be going to the D.C. Women’s March on Saturday, according to the event’s Facebook page, and another 255,000 indicated interest in the event.

Nico Oldfield, a third-year political science and communication studies combined major and co-president of Feminist Student Organization (FSO), saw potential for the protests to serve as a unifying force. Oldfield—who uses the “they” pronoun—said the Women’s March has been careful to welcome all genders, including the transgender community.

Oldfield said they knew that not everyone can attend the protests in D.C. due to conflicts with work, school or physical disabilities.

“I hope that we’re able to strike a balance of bringing the dialogue and our experience from the march itself into publications and things like that so we can try to amplify the voices of people who don’t have the opportunity to go to D.C. or go to the Boston March,” they said.

Oldfield will participate in protests on Friday and the Women’s March on Saturday, but said they are not sure whether there will be violence between Trump supporters and the protesters. Oldfield hopes people will stay peaceful.

“I would hope that at this point, everyone [understands that] what got us here is all this hostility, so we shouldn’t fight it with the same thing,” Oldfield said.

However, they recognize that there will likely be some tension between the two camps.

“We’re going to be met with resistance,” Oldfield said. “People can’t help but to yell back when they’re yelled at.”

Some expect that turnout for protests on Saturday will exceed that of the inauguration ceremony on Friday. The Washington Post reported that the number of bus permits requested for access to the city-run parking lot by RFK Stadium in D.C. on Saturday is 1,200 – greatly exceeding the 200 requests for Inauguration Day, according to D.C. Councilor Charles Allen.

“We’re starting off on the very first day of his presidency with a loud voice, with a lot of people saying, ‘We’re going to fight you on this if you try to pass these measures,’” Davis said.

Students who choose to attend the inauguration will join an estimated 700,000 attendees, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Activities.

Adam Kamoune, member of the Northeastern College Democrats and sophomore political science major, planned to attend the inauguration ceremony but said he can’t go for logistical reasons.

“I genuinely wanted to see Trump speak,” he said.

Kamoune attended Trump’s rally in Hartford, Connecticut in April 2016. He said he was impressed by Trump’s ability to capture the attention of the crowd.

“There was a lot of anger in the room,” he said. “There was a lot of frustration, whether at current systems or other things. I think he channeled it very well.”

While Davis and Oldfield seem enthusiastic about their involvement in the protests, they are not sure whether it will have any real effect on the soon-to-be president.

“I wish I believed that it would affect him,” Davis said. “I personally don’t think that he will do anything in response to it. I hope, at least, that his administration will listen and at least recognize that there are a lot of lot of people in this country who feel strongly about him.”

While Davis is skeptical about the protests’ impacts on legislators, she is hopeful they will foster solidarity among the protesters.

“If nothing actually comes of it in terms of politics, I think it’s important for people to be united, be together,” Davis said. “Protests can or cannot be effective that way, but they are at least powerful in what they do for the people participating.”

Photo by Scotty Schenck