Provo Demands Action from John Curtis

A photo essay

Text by Megan Stevenson

Photos by Amanda Richael

Two months ago, my mom and dad organized and executed a protest right in front of the White House on Presidents’ Day, showing the public that what Donald Trump is doing is not normal. I was inspired. My parents showed me that protesting was a little thing we can do at a time of such high anxiety and worry.

When I heard that John Curtis was coming to BYU campus to speak to students, I was ecstatic. I immediately told my friends that we were going to have a protest, since I had been following the news closely and had been discouraged and frustrated both by Curtis’s votes to confirm Trump’s dangerous and unqualified cabinet picks (Pete Hegseth, RFK Jr., Kash Patel etc.) as well as by his messaging about DOGE’s illegal government slashing. I needed to find a way for myself and many other frustrated students, faculty members, and Utah residents to stand up for democracy so that our congressmen and congresswomen might have the courage to do the same someday.

That was the whole reason behind the protest: to show John Curtis in a powerful way that we demand more of him. To show him that this is not a normal time in our nation’s history and that he can’t gaslight us into thinking that Donald Trump is just doing what any bad Democratic president has done. To show him that we think he is the last hope of the Republican party in power—that deep down he has character.

I also feel strongly that what I have been taught at BYU, and specifically the messages I have heard from BYU devotional speakers, inspired me to organize this protest to protect the Constitution and remind John Curtis to do so. My classes and professors have filled me with empathy for the less fortunate; taught me to use my skills to bless all people, not just the wealthy; and have urged me to be civically engaged to make government work for all people.

With all of these lessons in mind, I decided to apply to demonstrate on BYU campus in front of the Hinckley Building. I was denied and given no explanation or insight into the decision making process. Separately, a BYU faculty member applied to demonstrate and was met with the same response. So in the end, we gathered and protested just off campus, at the corner of Cougar Boulevard and Canyon Road.