Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, was booed and protested at a Johnson County town hall on Sept. 22 on the University of Iowa campus.

Members of the UI community came out to Hubbard Park despite the high temperatures to make their voices heard at the “Our Voice” rally in response to Ernst’s visit.

The event was held in two parts, before and after the town hall, which was hosted by the UI Student Government and was part of Ernst’s tour to hear from constituents across the state. The focus of the rally was to communicate to Ernst the needs of the community, including the need to protect those who have received coverage under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

One speaker at the rally read a letter written by a UI student who is a DACA recipient. In the letter, she said, she had the privilege to work and study at the UI because of DACA.

“Now that DACA has been rescinded, I come to find myself stronger than ever, and yes the fear has come back again, but I will not keep quiet again,” a portion of the letter read. “I will brace the challenge, and I will fight for the same right to learn and achieve.”

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Jodi Clemens, a West Branch financial professional and a Democratic candidate running in Iowa House District 73 who was in attendance, said she has taken action by contacting her representatives and urges others to do the same.

“There has to be this magic number,” Clemens said. “There has to be some number in their heads when enough of their constituents say, ‘We’re not going to vote for you’ that they finally listen, and we have to keep trying to hit that.”

Cathy Glasson, a registered nurse at UI Hospitals and Clinics and candidate for the Iowa Democratic gubernatorial nomination, was also in attendance.

“I’m out here because we have a U.S. senator speaking today that wants to gut health care from 172,000 Iowans and take away the rights of aspiring citizens in our communities and state, and separate them from their families, which is not an Iowa value that we care about,” Glasson said.

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UI student Emiliano Martinez, president of Hawkeyes for DREAM Iowa, a student organization that advocates for immigrant rights, stressed the importance of people gathering together and taking action to bring change to their communities.

“When people show up, and we organize ourselves, and we take action, things get done, and things come out of that that are so much more powerful than just a letter in response or a letter in solidarity,” Martinez said. “Civic engagement and being involved and letting your congressperson or your senator know that this is what your community stands for is so much more powerful than tweeting at them.”

Martinez was in attendance at the town hall, where he spoke to demand answers about Ernst’s stance on the decision to rescind DACA. Ernst was answering questions from other constituents at the time and did not respond.

When Martinez spoke at the rally, he intentionally chose not to mention Ernst or President Trump.

“I believe that we need to have efficacy, we need to be able to believe that our voice matters and that we can make a difference,” Martinez said. “We have to talk about the real issues and how those issues play themselves out.”

Clemens and Glasson said they believe it is important for the younger generations to become involved.