On the eve of Saturday, Feb. 20, I joined over 100 students from schools across Massachusetts in an experience that simultaneously chilled and warmed me. The statewide sleep-out for climate change, located on the Amherst Commons, proved that proactive stances on a difficult matter are best accompanied by a group effort for change. While sub-20 degree temperatures might dissuade some people, anyone present for even a part of the evening would have acknowledged the event’s success.
At around 3 p.m., students from various colleges —– Lesley, Williams, Harvard, Boston, Wellesley, among other schools — began to arrive and pitch tents. Deerfield Academy and Amherst Regional High School were also represented. Students from Hampshire, UMass, Smith and Mount Holyoke were all in attendance. Amherst College was the only one of the Five Colleges to have zero participants.
The event was arranged by the Leadership Campaign, a group advocating for 100% clean energy in Massachusetts within ten years, and the Students for a Just & Stable Future (SFJSF), an affiliate of the campaign. The event was strategically scheduled, with another sleep-out held on the Boston Commons last November.
The Leadership Campaign’s “An Act to Create a Repower Massachusetts Emergency Task Force” was expected to be voted on during the State House session on Wednesday, Feb. 24, but was postponed because it had not yet been passed by the state House Committee on Rules. This bill has the potential to create a task force that would ideally convert all state energy to 100% clean energy within a decade.
Following an intense game of kickball, evening activism commenced with opening speeches featuring Craig Altemose, coordinator of Students for a Just & Stable Future and Jeff Gang, regional coordinator of the Western Massachusetts branch of SFJSF.
As the night progressed, the group prepared for some scheduled busywork: a phone call and letter writing campaign directed towards Massachusetts state House Speaker, Robert DeLeo. Representative DeLeo’s power to influence the passing of the act demanded this mass inbox flooding, which took place during a performance by Hampshire College jam band, The Stimulus Package.
Before heading to the tents for the night, everyone split into groups by regional sections to lay out some general project ideas. The Western Massachusetts region’s discussions focused on promotion to increase membership as well as increasing the amount of members holding leadership positions. Here at Mount Holyoke, publicity for SFJSF is expected to increase as projects surface and future sleep-outs approach. Possible future projects to be tackled by SFJSF include protests directed towards the Mount Tom Coal Plant, located in downtown Holyoke on the Connecticut River, and group weatherization projects. Reliance on Mt. Tom’s coal for energy hinders the goal of 100% clean energy. Hands-on weatherization projects could also have a positive influence on houses, especially those of low-income families, as they make homes more energy-efficient for harsh seasonal conditions.
What I found most impressive was the turnout of Mount Holyoke students at this fun and powerful event. First-year Julia Herman, Mount Holyoke’s SFJSF branch coordinator, asserted that getting a citation for trespassing on the Boston Common last November and freezing in Amherst on Sunday are trivialized by the powerful statement and friendships made during the sleep-outs. “This is us refusing to sleep in buildings powered by dirty energy,” said Herman. “With the SFJSF, I feel like there’s no place where you could have a more substantial affect right now.”
If the perks include a slumber party of like-minded ambitious individuals from all over Massachusetts, count me in.
Related posts:
- Students unite to combat climate change
- ARTchitecture: the sustainable beauty of Western MA
- Cold Until Copenhagen
- Student activists urge passage of new climate change bill
- Students demand clear air and clean energy
