Walking down Commonwealth Avenue Wednesday afternoon, it was almost impossible to miss a pink table set up in front of the George Sherman Union. The cluster of pink balloons tied down to the table brought some color and warmth to the gloomy day. In front of the table was a poster, stating, “wear your pantsuit with pride.”
At the table, Boston University students gathered in pantsuits to participate in the #pantsuitpower demonstration, which is organized by two College of Arts and Sciences students, Grace Hagerty and Kathryn Turner, to show their support for women elected to Congress.
The two organizers invited the BU community to come by the table and write down words of encouragement for women who were elected to office at the national level, including Kate Brown, Val Demings and other female role models.
“We organized this demonstration to be a positive and productive reaction to the results of not just the presidential election, but the election for Senate and Congress,” Hagerty, a junior, said in a phone interview prior to the demonstration. “We’re wearing pantsuits, blazers and outfits that make us feel powerful to show our commitment.”
The organizers said they see a lot of comments about this election on social media, and they hope the event will inspire more “active and physical political commentary” offline.
Approximately 30 people, including students and Boston residents, stopped by the table over the course of an hour and a half. Not all of them wore pantsuits because most of the participants decided to join the demonstration spontaneously when they saw the table.
As organizers played music that praised women’s power, such a “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” by Shania Twain, while participants danced along.
Domenica DeLuca, a junior in the School of Education, said that she came by to support women who are taking the steps to break the glass ceiling.
“It is really cool that women are being elected into the government positions because that shows that people want it,” DeLuca said. “I want to be a teacher, and I want all of my students to be able to have role models, particularly women, [whom] they can look up to.”
Loretta Hing, a junior in the College of Engineering, said that these women give her hope following the election results.
“It’s shocking to see that someone like Trump [who says] the things he says would still be elected as president,” Hing said. “It shows that this country still doesn’t care about women and women’s rights. With these women elected, I think that can change a lot.”
Aly Furneaux, a senior in CAS, said although Hillary Clinton lost the general election, it is still a big deal to see “so many women being elected into the government.”
Mallory MacDonald, a junior in the Questrom School of Business, said she wrote several thank-you cards to the elected women for being her inspiration.
“It’s really important, especially now, for women to unite and to feel really empowered,” MacDonald said. “When terrible things like [the election] happen to us, even though some people might be really happy about it [but not] angry or sad, it’s really great to feel the empowerment.”
Halla Daoui, a School of Public Health alumna who graduated in 2015, said this initiative is an amazing step to celebrate women in politics.
“Seeing this table out here just reminds us of more positive changes,” Daoui said. “I just want to give them a few words of encouragement. It was a great idea that they were sending letters to all the women elected all over the states.”
