Student organizations protested against President Donald Trump at “No Kings” demonstrations at Town and Country Village and Rinconada Park on Oct. 18 as part of the national “No Kings Day” movement. 

According to national organizers, the “No Kings” movement aimed to return the power to the people. The country has seen similar protests pop up across cities since the summer. Some dotted the Bay in June.

Stanford’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chapter and six other clubs met at Coupa Cafe the morning of Oct. 18 to attend the protest together, amassing a group of about 50 people, according to ACLU co-president Victoria Tuffour ’26. Students were joined by many Stanford alumni, some of whom were in town for Reunion Weekend.

“[There was] a lot of really powerful energy. It started to make me really emotional, seeing how many people showed up to the protest,” Tuffour said.

Attendee Jadon Urogdy ’27 described the demonstration as “a moment of togetherness and a moment to really bond over a common grievance.” 

Protestors started at a packed Town and Country Village and were greeted by supportive honks from passing cars, before participating in a “No Kings” parade from Town and Country to the Democracy Fair at Rinconada Park. The Democracy Fair hosted 44 external organizations, who manned educational tables on topics such as immigrant’s rights and authoritarianism.

Nancy Nagel M.B.A. ’93, a co-founder of Indivisible Mid-Peninsula, said the event was “festive.” Indivisible Mid-Peninsula, a pro-democracy activist group based in the Bay area, co-organized the Democracy Fair.

Both Urogdy and Nagel said that, following the protests, they hope to elicit even more civic engagement from Stanford students. 

“Being out there on the streets of Palo Alto kind of pops that Stanford bubble and gets Stanford students engaged in the surrounding area, which is something that I think we really need to do a better job of,” Urogdy said. 

He also noted the potential difficulties of being politically active as a busy college student. 

“I think Stanford students are passionate, but a lot of Stanford students face time constraints,” Urogdy said. 

Indivisible Mid-Peninsula is working to improve their outreach to young people, according to Nagel. She added that the organization’s lack of student members limits its outreach and impact. 

Still, many were proud of the turnout on “No Kings Day”.

“I actually was very impressed with the amount of people that [the ACLU] was able to get,” Tuffour said. “It’s a Saturday morning, Stanford students don’t always like to go to things, but I think we actually had a really good turnout.”

Stanford’s ACLU chapter, Indivisible Mid-Peninsula and other student activists now look to future opportunities for civic engagement, spurred by the momentum of “No Kings Day” events. 

“There’s some more big protests going on with ICE raids. So, it just depends on what comes up and what we see. But truly whatever is happening we will try to mobilize for, just depending on timing and notice,” Tuffour said. 

Student organziers hope that the “No Kings” demonstrations were just starting points for future advocacy efforts.

“We need to be creative with the time that we have, with the resources that we have. And I think that starts with being able to be educators, be leaders in this moment,” Urogdy said.