NPFC At the Rally to Fight Back! 2013

New Paltz Feminist Collective was represented at the Rally to Fight Back! A march for women's rights in New Paltz, yesterday. Speaking at this event was the most empowering, beautiful thing I could have done. I saw a lot of my peers there, and the passion with which I spoke really even surprised me. I was so proud to be there. Great women and great men were in attendance, and the energy that came off the crowd during this speech was absolutely phenomenal. The march felt even more powerful, shouting things like "When you get pregnant, let us know! Sexist men have got to go!" and other really cool chants given to us by Donna Goodman, the Hudson Valley WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend) organizer, and the organizer of the rally itself. The march went from Peace Park on Plattekill Avenue, down Main St., through Water Street Market, and back. Of the phenomenal speakers, I got the chance to meet Elizabeth Gross, the original founder of the New Paltz Feminist Collective, Ariana Basco, a local elected official, and Jack Smith, the editor of the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter. It was a really amazing and exciting day, and the best way to kick off the semester for the collective--and best of all, the best way to FIGHT BACK! Cait O'Connor