The sound of a dozen students yelling “C-what? C-won’t follow federal law!” pierced the cold morning air as a crowd of sign-bearing students marched across campus.

An Instagram page called “Cats Against Assault” first posted on Oct. 20. On Thursday, Nov. 3, a protest coordinated by the Instagram page led students in a loop on campus that began and ended at the Wildcat Statue in front of the SURC. 

The protests started at 10 a.m. and continued until 2 p.m. The march went in 30 minute intervals. According to volunteers, the route took roughly 25 minutes.

“I am here because I really believe in the things this organization is asking for,” a student volunteer who asked to stay anonymous said. “I’ve heard the same story over and over again, which is that Central doesn’t do anything. I love Central and I hate for that to become what it’s known for.” 

Some students said they were at the protest to support their peers and others said they were there to share their own experiences.

“I am personally here because my Title IX case was swept under the rug,” senior Biology student Polina Chowdhury said. “I am here advocating for myself [and] for my other coworkers from the Learning Commons whose cases also got swept under the rug.”

Chowdhury said that her previous boss in the Learning Commons told her and other female coworkers to dress in a way that would attract more men into the Learning Commons.

“[My boss] told me and the other female coworkers to wear tight leggings and do squats so men would come into the writing center more,” Chowdhury said. 

Faith Kruse, a sophomore in Anthropology, said that she had also been harassed by CWU faculty.

“I’ve been harassed by employees here,” Kruse said. “I worked in Dining Services for about two months last year, and I was harassed by one of the supervisors who faced no repercussions for his actions and I believe is still employed here.” 

Every half hour a different group of students representing a different campus club or organization led the march before handing off the megaphone to the next student representatives.

According to the flier that was handed out at the event and posted on the Instagram page, the student organizations that led the march included the cross country team, the lacrosse team, track and field, the Douglas Honors College, the cosplay club and the Black Student Union. Not listed was the women’s rugby team, who said they led the 11 a.m. cycle.

“We’re always told that [student athletes] are ambassadors on campus and that a lot of people see us and look up to us,” junior in public health and fly half on the women’s rugby team, Kai Brandt-Templeton said. “We represent our school at a national level. For us to be here promoting this helps get the word out across the country, across the conference, across the state.”