Geneseo Peace Action and Plastic Free Geneseo rally for climate change

On Thursday, Apr. 20, roughly 50 participants gathered on the green outside of Doty Hall for a climate action rally with Geneseo Peace Action and Plastic Free Zone. Ralliers walked from the MacVittie Union to the Doty Green at 1:30 p.m., circulating around buildings like Welles Hall and Bailey Hall during class hours and ending outside of the Integrated Science Center (ISC) around 2:40 p.m. Before the march, students gathered at the Union to make signs for the event from recycled materials.

This collaborative event was organized by Peace Action and Plastic Free Zone as part of Geneseo’s Earth Week. As cited by the poster posted on the Peace Action and Plastic Free Geneseo respective Instagram’s, the primary purpose of the rally was to draw attention to the administration’s commitment to revising its Climate Action Plan every five years, though the plan has not been revised since 2010: “We are peacefully rallying to show our support for an updated Climate Action Plan.” Many ralliers held signs with QR codes for passers-by to scan and sign a petition, “not just asking for a revised climate plan; we are looking for accountability systems on administration to be put in place.” The petition was submitted to Geneseo Speaks on Apr. 19 and quickly achieved its threshold status of 75 signatures.

“We want our university to look at its values and change accordingly,” said senior sustainability studies and women and gender studies double major Yaro Bautista Martinez via megaphone during the march. Ralliers participated in chants, as well, such as the call-and-response, “What do we want? Climate action. When do we want it? Now!” and “Hey hey, ho ho! Plastic here has got to go.”

Founder of Plastic Free Geneseo sophomore chemistry major Elizabeth Klosko spoke about what she hopes the Geneseo community takes away from the Thursday march.

“I’m hoping that people not only learn that their voices are so important in this kind of fight, but I’m hoping that the administration hears us and creates a new climate action plan, but they follow through with all the promises that they made us,” Klosko said. “That is the most important part—that they don’t just make these promises, they don’t just make a Climate Action Plan, they actually follow it.”

Leaders and participants alike were moved by the powerful words and actions of the event and the change it intended to inspire.

“It was really eye-opening in that I didn’t realize that we hadn’t updated our Climate Action Plan in 13 years,” said Lucas Wheeler, a sophomore English adolescent education major. “I really hope that we got through to the administration, and if not, we’ll just have to do it again. And I’m always down to do it again.”

Senior sociology and sustainability double major Ruby Morris, the president of Peace Action Geneseo, shared her perspective on what this event, and peaceful organization as a whole, means to Geneseo:

“Things don’t happen on your own—you need to come together. You need to organize, you need to form connections, you need to be loving, [and] you need to lead with love. I think when you lead with love, peaceful outcomes come…With the help of our petition on Geneseo Speaks, our community organizing, and our visible call for a revised Climate Action Plan, the administration will hear our passion and seriousness.”