The Coalition for Bodily Autonomy held a candlelight vigil and rally in front of Jesse Hall on Nov. 10 to honor victims who lost their lives due to lack of gender-affirming care, anti-transgender violence or unwanted pregnancy. The coalition reiterated their three demands of MU administration, originally made during an Oct. 6 rally.
The Oct. 6 protest was part of a larger national day of action led by the Graduate Student Action Network and Young Democratic Socialists of America. The MU chapter of YDSA raised three demands of MU’s administration: provide free contraceptives to all students free of charge – namely the Plan B pill – end censorship of the campus social justice centers such as the Women’s Center and the LGBTQ Resource Center and issue a statement condemning the June 24 Dobbs v. Jackson decision.
The Nov. 10 rally began at 6 p.m., with coalition leadership reciting the names of 150 people of color and underage victims who have lost their lives due to anti-transgender hatred. Each name was followed by a brief moment of silence. Participants were invited to place candles on the steps of Jesse Hall for each name recognized.
“The remaining 150 [candles] are dedicated to folks whose lives were lost as a result of unwanted pregnancies and lack of access to safe abortions,” Galen Zavala Sherby, Mizzou YDSAmerica chair, announced to the crowd of about 50 people.
In the process of researching for the vigil, coalition organizers could only find 18 documented cases in which lack of access to safe abortions or unwanted pregnancies led to death.
Protesters laid the remaining 132 candles in silence to recognize the existence of the unknown victims.
“Those names remain unnamed,” Zavala Sherby told the group. “The world will not know them, but we remember them still, and we mourn them still: the ones who have passed, the ones who are dying now, and the ones who will continue to die as the result of the Dobbs decision.”
After the vigil, protesters had the opportunity to share personal testimony.
The protest occurred over a month after the coalition of student and community organizations rallied in defense of bodily autonomy on Oct. 6. Mun Choi, UM System president and MU chancellor, responded to the demands by agreeing to engage in dialogue with members of the coalition through email correspondence and public statements in the Oct. 20 Missouri Students Association’s Town Hall.
The coalition did not agree to meet with Choi and his administrative colleagues because members of the press were not allowed to attend the “dialogue.”
“We … determined that it would be unconscionable to meet with [Choi] behind closed doors,” Zavala Sherby said. “Anything he can say to any one of our organizations, he can say to any student on this campus and he can say to the Columbia community.”
Zavala Sherby called attention to Mun Choi’s absence and said the coalition had invited him to attend the protest.
Zavala Sherby concluded the vigil by emphasizing the coalition’s pursuit of their three demands of MU administration.
“We’re going to continue pushing for these demands until they are met,” Zavala Sherby said. “It is the bare minimum that the university can do to ensure that one of these candles does not come to represent a beloved member of our community.”
Edited by Emma Flannery | eflannery@themaneater.comCopy Edited by Grace Knight and Emily Rutledge