On April 18, demonstrators gathered in downtown Hanover to protest recent changes in federal and New Hampshire government. For 75 minutes, protesters raised signs from “dump DOGE” to “free Mohsen Mahdawi,” a detained Palestinian activist, while cars and pedestrians passed by.
The event marked the eighth consecutive Friday demonstration. Hanover and Lyme Town Democrats chair Deborah Nelson, who organized the demonstration, said she advertised the protests in her organization’s newsletter.
“What prompted the decision [to protest] was basically anxiety and horror at the Trump administration and thinking, ‘When is somebody going to do something?’” Nelson said. “I thought, ‘Okay, somebody’s me.’”
Over the past two months, the protests have grown, Nelson said.
“The first Friday that we gathered, there were probably 45 people,” she said. “The second Friday, it was almost double that.”
While the April 18 protest drew a significant crowd, a large majority of participants were not Dartmouth students. Many attendees, including John Miller, a Vietnam War veteran from Orford, N.H., urged students to “stand up for what’s right” and join future protests.
“Be bold. Be brave,” Miller said.
Many demonstrators noted that their main motivation for attending the protest was strong opposition to the recent changes in the federal government, including Orford Democrats town chair Deborah Merrill-Sands.
“I think that the current president is completely destroying the federal government, breaking the law and turning America into something that we’ve never seen before,” Merrill-Sands said.
Attendee and White River Junction resident Megan Culp said she was “heartbroken” by the administration’s actions.
“I think we’re headed towards fascism,” Culp said.
Other attendees cited specific concerns with Trump’s policies. Miller, for example, expressed disappointment about the Trump administration’s “war” on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
“The war on diversity, equity and inclusion is the worst thing that’s happened to our culture that I can remember in my lifetime, and it impacts all of us,” Miller said. “It’s an American value, it’s what we are.”
In addition to national concerns, protestors expressed their disapproval of Republican policies at the state and local levels.
“I made a sign that I held for a while last Friday about the New Hampshire budget cuts,” Nelson said. “I think a lot of people are looking at the national level, but they also need to be mindful of what’s happening in Concord.”
Newport, Vt., resident and protest participant Anna OHara said the recent removal of an income cap on Education Freedom Accounts, which are grants given to New Hampshire families to fund their children’s education, could take away funding from “already struggling” public schools.
“Republican representatives are failing our kids at every level,” OHara said.
Nelson said that while the protests may not lead to large-scale change, the number of people interested in the Hanover and Lyme Town Democrats has grown.
“I think we have grown our mailing list in the eight weeks that we’ve been [protesting],” she said. “Most people see us as a resource for information they would like to have about what’s going on in the state and also nationally, and what they can do in response.”
Additionally, Nelson said the protests foster a crucial sense of community and support.
“It is standing up and saying, ‘No, this is not okay,’” Nelson said. “People need those opportunities when things become bleak.”
Hanover resident Susan Holcomb agreed.
“So many of us feel helpless with what’s going on,” she said. “…It’s really important to get out here and stand up for our country, and that’s what we’re doing.”
