Since President Donald Trump took office for a second time, millions of people have taken to the streets in protest.

Jordan Korgood, a 23-year-old leftist, has been to many protests.

“We do have power. And we can’t really exert that unless we make ourselves known and our voices heard. I think the only way, or one of the most important ways, to effectively do that is to take to the streets,” Korgood explained on GBH News’ Politics IRL.

Korgood was politically active before Trump’s inauguration, too. They were among the roughly 100 people arrested at Northeastern’s encampment last year. Korgood acknowledges how officials’ response to protest has disincentivized young people from participating.

“When we do protest, it’s not met with any positive result. I get that,” they said. “That being said, I think we still have the duty and the obligation to take to the streets and show up.”

But not every young person feels that way. Safety concerns have kept 22-year-old liberal Sabine de Laurent off the streets.

“It can be more difficult for me to feel safe in those environments,” de Laurent said. “But I think that even though I don’t attend, I try my best to be politically engaged and active.”

She said that if a protest isn’t coupled with further action like calling elected officials or campaigning, the effort can fall flat.

And, she said, race can play a factor how a protest and its participants are perceived. “I don’t think that in America, Black and Brown people can ever protest correctly,” de Laurent said.

She noted NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s infamous kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality, which ultimately ended his employment opportunities in the NFL.

Democrat Bella Diamandis, 19, has also skipped out on protesting. She believes peaceful protests aren’t as impactful, and that most of the activism she’s seen in recent months has failed to gain representatives’ attention.

“I think unless you put yourself in danger, politicians are just going to turn a blind eye and kind of ignore the people on the streets,” she said. “There are other ways to more directly get in contact with people more directly.”

For 21-year-old progressive Luke McCarthy, disruption is the point.

“I feel like if a protest is fully safe, it probably won’t do that much of anything,” he said, noting that a small sit-in at a government agency is likely to have more impact than a large-scale protest that lacks specific demands.

“They’re going to have that tangible impact of getting in the government’s way, and they have to notice that. They can’t not notice it if you are getting in their way,” said McCarthy, who has been to several recent protests.

Watch the full conversation by clicking the video at the top of the page.

In the Politics IRL video series, we give young voters the opportunity to sit face to face and talk openly about the topics that motivated them to vote — or not — in the 2024 general election. They choose what to discuss. We get to see their politics — in real life. If you are a young voter, or know of one who may want to participate in our series, please connect with lead producer Alexi Cohan via email at  alexi_cohan@wgbh.org.