While hundreds of students were getting ready for prom April 5, junior Hudson Kerr and senior Lance Prosise were among the sea of people and signs covering the Texas capitol lawn for the “Hands Off!” protest.
Across the nation, over 1,300 “Hands Off!” protests occurred. Protesters rallied together and spoke against President Trump and Elon Musk, fighting for education, economics and civil rights.
“It was my first time protesting,” Kerr said. “I was just so excited to finally have some place to channel all of my feelings about this subject, and to finally be able to do something about it rather than just being mad at it with myself or by myself.”
Kerr and Prosise advocated for LGBTQ+ rights and spoke against the Trump Administration’s economic policies.
“I’m super interested in economics and what my financial future is going to look like,” Prosise said. “I would like for it to be good, and I don’t think that the current administration is doing a good job of protecting my future with tariffs and with government spending. “
Prosise also advocated for transgender rights, something that is more personal for him.
“I’m transgender,” Prosise said. “So I would like for my personal civil liberties to not be stripped away from me, and to gain more because we’re not fully there yet.”
Prosise’s sign reflected the causes he was advocating for. One side had the stock market from April 4 with President Trump pointing saying “I did that.” The other side read “Don’t Tread on Me” and a snake on the Transgender flag.
“I wanted to make [the sign] Austin, because I love my state, and I’d like for my state to love me back,” Prosise said.
According to KVUE, law enforcement estimated that there were over 7,000 protesters present at one point. While at the protest, Kerr and Prosise were able to speak with other protesters.
“I felt most moved by the not only amount of people there, but the different kinds of people,” Kerr said. “There were a whole lot of older people, like in their 60s and 70s, [and] grandmas and grandpas. I was truly moved by them coming out. I felt like based on just how many different kinds of people were there and how many people cared about this issue so much they decided to show up, that was, to me, the most moving.”
Prosise emphasized the importance of speaking out and advocating for beliefs.
“I think that being young gives us more power, because if we start now, then it’s gonna be a part of our daily lives,” Prosise said. “There’s power in our voices in a unique media way. … Speak up for what you believe in, and if you don’t agree with something that is happening, then you should say something about it.”
