Grey clouds hang over the brick walkway, making Tuesday dreary and drizzly. I stand side by side with 40 other students, giving up my lunch hour to hold signs and chant at nobody in particular.

“We won’t do HB2!”

Our school, Salem College, has yet to denounce the new discrimination bill, House Bill 2, and students aren’t happy. One of the organizers stands in front of the crowd with a megaphone, leading the rest of us in a series of chants as we stand in front of the Student Center, both asking and daring our administration to face us.

“Trans lives matter, black lives matter!”

A reporter from the local paper circles us, trying to take pictures while staying dry in his blue windbreaker. He speaks to the leader of this demonstration, while making sure to get video footage of us standing in the open, demanding that our President and Board of Trustees speak up and guarantee the protection of our LGBTQIA+ students.

“This is OUR campus, NOT their campus!”

We began moving, following the red bricks to the house of the president across the street. She is nowhere to be found on main campus, so we go looking for her. She is not home. We move to her office. She is not there. Still, we stand and read aloud our demands.

“One. That President Sterritt and the Board of Trustees release a formal and public statement opposing House Bill 2.”

A student tapes the list to the office’s back porch door.

“Two. Appoint a more diverse Board of Trustees that represents the student body.”

Another student knocks on the back porch door. Where is our president?

“Three. Implement a transgender policy for Salem’s campus.”

I pull out my phone and take a picture of everyone gathered. Social media coverage will be important after this is all over.

“Four. Amend the harassment and non-discrimination policies to include gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation.”

The old door accidentally swings open and the receptionist walks over and shuts it again without a word.

We begin walking back toward the student center, taking care to cross the street quickly so we don’t block traffic. We remain there for another 20 minutes, chanting some more and handing out copies of our demands to passer-bys. At 1 o’clock, we gather together, listen to the leader, Christina, outline the plans for this evening and disperse, hoping to have made some kind of impact.

And we did. The next day, our photo and story was on the front page of The Winston-Salem Journal. Less than 48 hours after the protest, a formal statement was sent to the Salem College community from President Sterritt and the Chair of the Board of Trustees opposing HB2 and reaffirming Salem’s non-discrimination policy.

It’s a start. One of our demands were met. But we feel hopeful for the future. We are hopeful that we can inspire change within our community.

We are not the first to do this. Other schools like Yale, Columbia, Mizzou and Boston College have protested and held demonstrations to demand change in both administration and in the campus environment due to issues like racism.

College protests can have great impacts. Students – the future of the world – standing up for what they believe in and fighting the authoritative power that tries to subdue them indicates the kind of leaders we will grow to be. Leaders of the world who don’t take no shit and who understand the importance of tolerance, acceptance and equality in all aspects of life.

Standing there with my fellow sisters and siblings (the term used out of respect for trans and non-binary students) in the rain, I have never felt more proud to be a Salem woman. Since our founding in 1772, we have gone against the grain and challenged what is put before us. Being the first to educate women in America, progress is in our blood. Our school’s mission statement states that Salem “values its students as individuals, develops their unique potential and prepares them to change the world.”

And that’s what we’re doing, starting within our community. We love our home and we want it to be a welcoming, inclusive and safe place for all of us. Those of us who are being denied this right are fighting for our right to be respected, and those of us who do not are fighting for our sisters and siblings.

Because if there’s one thing that’s been consistent throughout Salem College’s 244-year history, it’s that we stand together as one.