Gov. Gavin Newsom urged citizens to take action on reproductive freedom by voting “yes” on Prop. 1 at a rally on Sunday at Long Beach City College.
Newsom expressed that the people are at the front of the civil rights battle for reproductive health, and voting “yes” was crucial to expand a person’s right to abortion and contraception.
“By 8 p.m. Tuesday night, we can turn this country around,” Newsom said.
Last night’s elections resulted in Prop. 1 passing overwhelmingly with 64.9% of voters saying “yes” with 46% reporting so far based on data from the Associated Press.
The campaign took place at 10 a.m. with several public officials being brought out to show their support for the proposition.
California Gov., Gavin Newsom listens to speeches given in support of Proposition 1 during the Nov. 6, 2022 “Rally for Reproductive Freedom.” Hundreds of people and key politicians from California came out to LBCC to attend the rally. (Nick Eismann) 
Robert Garcia shares a greeting before the Nov. 6, 2022 “Rally for Reproductive Freedom” in support of Proposition 1 at LBCC. Other key figures in attendance were Congressman Lowenthall and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Nick Eismann) 
Long Beach 6th District Councilwoman, Suely Saro speaks in support of proposition one during the Nov. 6, 2022 rally. Saro was one of many politicians and public figures speaking in support of Proposition 1 during the “Rally for Reproductive Freedom.” (Nick Eismann) 
LBCC students hold signs supporting Proposition 1 at the “Rally for Reproductive Freedom” on Nov. 6, 2022. Hundreds of attendees showed up to support Proposition 1 as well as hear politicians such as mayor and congressional candidate Robert Garcia and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Nick Eismann
Their main goal was to encourage voters to select Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
The president and CEO of Planned Parenthood in California, Jodi Hicks, approached the stage with the girl-boss song, “Bad Reputation”, by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts playing loudly in the gym with consonant notes of the crowd’s cheering in the background.
Her speech stated that California will not comply with what other states will do.
This indeed happened as voters decided to make the state a sanctuary for citizens in other states who don’t have access to abortion care following the elections last night.
“We are an election away from losing freedoms every single election, every single time,” Hicks said.
Hicks also made it clear that extremist politicians will not change the fact that people need health care, and that voting can achieve these goals.
The Long Beach City College First Year Experience program (FYE) invited 50 students to attend the event. These spots filled up within the first day of the invitation being sent out.
Lupe Pasillas, who works with the student equity staff at LBCC, helped organize the invitation of students that attended the rally.
Pasillas believes that being exposed to political movements help encourage students to vote and understand why it’s a crucial duty as an American citizen.
“As an institution [Long Beach City College] it’s really important for us to be able to educate students on the importance of exercising their ability to vote and staying informed on relevant political issues,” Pasillas said.
Long Beach City College President Mike Munoz supported the event and was eager to see the students that were able to experience this rally and watch the student performers in between speakers.
“I would never encourage one way or the other in terms of how to vote, but I do believe in participating in our elections. Elections have consequences, especially for the lives of students. As we know, there’s a lot of issues that are going to impact your generation more than even mine,” Munoz said.
He believes it’s important for the college to help create opportunities for students to engage in real democracy and provide this type of political exposure.
These public figures kept the energies high throughout the entirety of the event, along with the LBCC’s cheerleaders who performed around the halfway mark of the rally.
The crowd was positive and kept the indoors portion of the rally peaceful and uplifting.