The event in Princeton was a rally and not a march -- the difference being we stood in Hinds Plaza next to the Princeton Public Library and heard speeches. We did not take to the streets, though we did overflow into the streets. The official word is 5,000 people filled the space starting at Hinds Plaza, crossing Witherspoon Street, up to Spring Street, and down towards Halo Pub.
Ashley and I arrived as the event was starting. At that point Hinds Plaza was about full. We managed to find a cozy spot along the bushes near the bike racks. At no point did we feel crowded or squished. We saw some friends (Allie and Ben, Ken and Trina, and her middle school math teacher) and later learned many other friends were in the crowd. The group was predominantly middle to upper middle class white, what you would expect in Princeton.
Ashley and I stayed about 45 minutes. The speeches were the same -- preaching to the "choir" type speeches. Many chants of "VOTE THEM OUT," which is hard to get behind when you really love your congresswoman (Bonnie Watson Coleman) and would not want her replaced by someone worse.
As we walked back to the car we saw many other people joining the group. Imagine 5,000 people came out to protest gun violence in "sleepy, little Princeton," words I heard someone use to describe the event as we were leaving.
Will things change? Not overnight, but the tide is pushing in that direction.
Here are a couple of links from Planet Princeton:
https://planetprinceton.com/2018/03/24/at-historic-princeton-rally-thousands-call-for-action-to-end-gun-violence-photo-gallery/ (towards the end are a couple of my pictures)
https://planetprinceton.com/2018/03/24/high-school-senior-organizes-princeton-march-for-our-lives/
A slate.com article about the Parkland students worth reading: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/the-student-activists-of-marjory-stoneman-douglas-high-demonstrate-the-power-of-a-full-education.html
My pictures:
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