My voice has power.
These are the words of one of our student activists after meeting with Tim DeChristopher, or Bidder 70, at Michigan State University last week. Tabitha Skervin, the student who met Tim at MSU, introduced him at last weekends Power Shift conference in front of 10,000 people. Right now, Tabitha is working on a campaign to shut down the coal plant on MSUs campus.
Id like you to read this again: Tabitha and her classmates are working to shut down the coal plant on MSUs campus. MSU has the largest on-campus coal plant in the United States, and Tabithas group is heading fearlessly to school every day to tell their administration to quit coal and join the energy revolution.
Tabitha is doing the most important thing she could be doing at this time: she is fighting dirty energy, organizing her community around this issue, and pressuring the decision makers at Michigan State to switch to renewable energy. With Tabithas motivation, passion, and powerful voice, I have no doubt that she and the members of the MSU group will go far. They will change the mindset at MSU that this unsustainable, unhealthy energy source is in any way acceptable.
As a Michigan native, I have a special place in my heart for the students who are fighting coal in my home state. But its not just Michigan who needs to join the energy revolution – its all of us, everywhere. If the fight at MSU is any indication, this larger battle to quit coal in the U.S. is going to be a challenging fight, one that will not be won easily. We need organizers, activists, and folks who are not afraid to stand up to existing institutions and demand the change we have been talking about for so long.
So – will you join us? Will you join the students like Tabitha who are fighting dirty energy on their campus?
Like I said, this movement needs organizers, activists, and people who are not afraid to stand up. We are training students across the country to organize on their campus right now. If youre a student and you want to learn how to organize for clean energy on your campus, in your community, and in this movement, apply today to participate in our student training in Washington, DC this fall. Learn how to make your voice even more powerful.
Maybe youre not a student, but know someone who would benefit from a training like this? Nominate a student today, and we will let them know more about the program!
Thank you to activists like Tabitha and Tim who are willing to stand up and demand a change for the environment. Now is the time, and we need to hear your voice, too.
