Over 150 UW-Madison students and community members traveled to Washington, D.C., this weekend to attend the National Equality March for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.
Buses left Memorial Union Saturday after a rally in Library Mall.
According to UW-Madison student Paul Pryse, the rally was meant to ""kick things off and get people excited"" for the event.
The march began at noon Sunday as people from all over the country gathered in downtown Washington, D.C., to begin the walk to the Capitol lawn.
""[The March included] people from all walks of life,"" Pryse said. ""But there was a large student contingent, and in fact the student contingent led the march as a whole. It kind of represents how much work young people did on this march.""
Emily Wickenhauser, another UW-Madison student, said the goal of the march was much more than just supporting the LGBT movement.
""[The goal] was uniting all the grassroots organizations across the U.S. and kind of just letting it be known that normal, everyday people feel this strongly about an issue and we're going to come back and keep fighting for it.""
Pryse also said he hopes the march will revolutionize the LGBT movement.
""The second goal is to say to the LGBT community ... that we need a new strategy,"" he said. ""We need to … really demand the only thing [the government] can guarantee for LGBT rights, which is federal equality under the law.""
After the march, LGBT activists such as Cleve Jones, Lady Gaga and Perez Hilton spoke on the Capitol lawn.
Several religious groups from around the country also spoke in favor of equal rights.
UW-Madison student Mara Lazer said she was encouraged by the religious groups' support.
""They were really nice to hear, just because the whole religious problem is people who have religious conflicts with it,"" she said.
This year's march was the largest national LGBT civil rights march since 1993.
