The National Equality March drew an estimated 150,000 people to Washington, D.C. Sunday in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered rights. Twenty Cornell students rode buses through the night to arrive in Washington in time for the march. They were among about 80 people from the Ithaca area who made the trip to lend their support and show their solidarity with the LGBT rights movement.

“We don’t want to be second-class citizens anymore,” Olivia Tai ’10, president of Haven: The LGBTQ Student Union and one of the Cornellians who attended the march, stated via e-mail.

The march was intended to “advocate for full equality on all fronts,” Tai stated. “Not half equality or sometimes equality, but full civil rights to marry, to serve in the military and to get employed without facing discrimination.”

The march was organized by Cleve Jones, the creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and an LGBT activist who worked closely with Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.

Politically, the marchers had three main objectives, Tai stated.

They pushed President Barack Obama to repeal Barack Obama to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a policy that bars openly gay Americans from serving in the military.

The demonstrators wanted Obama to sign legislation repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, Tai stated. The act, which was passed in 1996, defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The marchers also advocated for the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The act was introduced in the House of Representatives this summer.

“If ENDA is passed, and with DADT and DOMA repealed, we will probably remember this as the moment in history when LGBT Americans finally received their civil rights as full American citizens,” Tai stated.

The march’s route brought the demonstrators past the White House.

“It was an amazing sight to see rainbow flags and banners held up all around the White House. A gay couple posed with their hands with wedding bands in front of the White House,” Tai stated. “I wanted to go to the march because I wanted to support the marchers and contribute to the national impact of the march.” To represent Cornell, Tai brought a large, red banner that read, “Cornell University faculty, staff, alumni and students.”

“[It] felt really empowering to be among all the people, voicing our opinion, and to actually be there,” said Trey Ramsey ’12, president of Direct Action to Stop Heterosexism. “I felt it was important to pressure the President and Congress to act in favor of LGBTQ rights.”

The Ithaca branch of the International Socialist Organization organized and promoted the buses to bring students to the march.

“Our whole perspective as an organization nationally is about social movements,” said Donna Ugboaja ’10, vice president of the ISO. It would have been “totally stupid” to miss participating in the National Equality March, she said. “I’ve never, ever been to a protest that big before,” she said. “There was so much energy.”

The buses left Ithaca at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, Ramsey said. The students wanted to arrive on time for the march, which began at noon, but avoid spending money on a night at a hotel.

“We only spent 24 hours in total for travel and the actual march,” Tai stated. “We barely had time to grab food.”

Several LGBT rights activists spoke to the crowd and encouraged them to keep fighting for rights.

“The [speaker] I remember most was Lady Gaga, just because she took time out of her career to be there and to show her support,” Ramsey said.

Tai stated she was also touched by the speeches of Dan Choi, who was discharged from the Army after admitting he was gay, and Judy Shepard, whose son was murdered because he was gay.

“The largest statement made at the march was that we won’t stand for partial equality anymore,” Tai stated.

Although it did not rain during the march, “there were rainbows in the sky all day,” Ugboaja said.