Elizabeth Rodrigues, associate professor and humanities and digital scholarship librarian, joined three fellow Grinnellians outside Drake Community Library, signs in hand and voices ready. They carpooled west to Des Moines, where a crowd was already gathering outside Republican Congressman Zach Nunn’s office. From there, they marched to the Iowa State Capitol as part of the nationwide “Hands Off” protest on April 5. Amid the thousands who filled the streets, Rodrigues was not the only Grinnell resident.
Held in over 1,200 locations in all 50 states, Hands Off protests were present in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Davenport, Dubuque and Ames. Protestors aimed to mobilize thousands nationwide to “march, rally, disrupt, and demand an end to this billionaire power grab,” with actions planned at state capitols, federal buildings, congressional offices and city centers.
Frustration sparks action among Grinnell community
Bella Bjorklund `27 spent the morning making posters with other students, gathering as many materials as she could from Walmart.
“I found out about it from one of my friends who keeps a pretty close pulse of all political stuff going on,” said Bjorklund. “I really wanted to actually do something, instead of just being scared or uncertain about what was going to happen.”
A common sentiment amongst Grinnell community members in attendance was a sense of loss over various policy directions they disagreed with.
“There were just so many things to say that I didn’t even know what to write on my sign. So I just wrote a message to myself. I wrote ‘resistance is love,’” said Assistant Professor Leah Perlmutter, computer science.
Students and faculty showed up for a variety of reasons.
“I’m in favor of reducing fraud, waste and abuse in government. However, that is not what is happening. What is happening is a dismantling of federal government services by people who are unelected,” said Professor David Harrison, French.
“I just think it’s really important to get out there and show that the narrative that the president won the election by such a huge margin, that he has a mandate to do whatever he thinks is right, is just incorrect, that we still are part of a democracy,” said Rodrigues.
“You cannot dismantle the federal government in a way that’s unauthorized, illegal, and being performed by people who actually are not federal government employees—in the sense that they’ve not been authorized to do these actions by the Congress,” said Harrison. “I wanted to show my support for that.”
Local politicians face calls for accountability
Beyond the current presidential administration, Harrison said he takes issue with local-level politics, specifically calling out Representative Dean Fisher (R-Montour).
“Representative Dean Fisher has for the last two years refused to come to a Forum sponsored by the nonpartisan Grinnell League of Women Voters to meet with his constituents in Grinnell, both Democrat and Republican and Independent,” Harrison said.
Fisher pushed back on that characterization.
“I have participated in open forums sponsored by other organizations in Poweshiek County. I’ve declined the League of Women Voters because I attended one of their events in the past, and both the organizers and the attendees were very rude, very uncivil, so I declined to go to their events,” said Fisher.
GOP leaders defend budget, criticize demonstrations
In response to Iowa protests, Republicans emphasized the importance of their economic and budgetary decisions.
“Iowans and Americans voted to end the D.C. way of doing things and drain the swamp. Instead of President Biden treating taxpayer dollars like monopoly money, the Trump Administration is doing a top-down review of federal spending and showing taxpayers the respect they deserve. It’s been a long time coming,” wrote a spokesperson for Iowa’s Second District Congresswoman Ashley Hinson in a statement to The S&B.
Congresswoman Hinson’s spokesperson and Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour) both indicated that they will continue working toward their policy platforms.
“If people want to protest, that is their right. I continue to do my job,” said Fisher.
“Rep. Hinson will continue working with the Trump Administration to save tax dollars while bringing investments home to Iowa,” Hinson’s spokesperson said.
Grinnellians reflect on unity, resolve
Participants recalled the atmosphere of unity and urgency.
“You’re just in a sea of people,” said Perlmutter. “You’re just walking with your friends and talking with your friends and just feeling angry and energized.”
“The part of the protest that I remember the most vividly was how good it felt to speak my frustrations amongst a large crowd of people,” said Bjorklund.
All faculty and students interviewed represent their individual opinions and do not represent Grinnell College.
