In response to former U.S. President Mike Pence speaking at a College Republicans event on campus, several UNC students gathered in The Pit on Wednesday in protest.

The UNC Young Democrats coordinated the event to be just before Pence’s speech inside the Carolina Student Union, partnering with more than a dozen student and local groups. They voiced criticism and concern about policies the Republican Party and Pence promote, discussing topics like abortion rights, gun reform, voting laws and attacks on minority populations.

Here is a photo gallery of the action in The Pit, with descriptions below each photo.

Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Anderson Clayton was one of the first speakers at the UNC Young Democrats’ rally Wednesday night.
Clayton criticized Pence and the Republican Party’s policies — particularly stances on LGBTQ+ rights and abortion access — saying they do not represent the future she believes North Carolina deserves.
A crowd of students gather in The Pit to watch the rally speakers on the nearby steps.
Representatives from the student-run Latinx cultural group Mi Pueblo speak during the rally. They criticized Pence’s past comments that denigrated and stereotyped Latinx people, as well as denounced his immigration policies.
Two leaders of UNC’s chapter of March For Our Lives said Pence and the Republican Party’s support of current gun laws is a choice that puts children at risk for gun violence.
Members of the Chapel Heelz drag club on UNC’s campus speak at the rally, denouncing the Republican Party’s attacks on LGBTQ+ members and, specifically, drag performances.
Chapel Heelz said the attacks on the transgender and queer community by politicians as the latest example of thinly-veiled attempts to deny them “the right to exist.”
Supporters at the UNC Young Democrats rally hold signs and flyswatters, which were distributed as a call-back to Pence’s 2020 vice presidential debate.
Community members hold signs in support of the UNC Young Democrats rally on Wednesday, April 26.
The crowd watches on as more speakers take the microphone at the rally in UNC’s Pit.
UNC Young Democrats’ secretary Sloan Duvall introduces the next speaker at the group’s rally.
A sign for the ‘This Is The Woke Left’ rally is posted on a pole by The Pit, and people attending the rally stand around it.

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