BY YINGJIA WANG

In print | November 8, 2007

This past weekend, 22 Swarthmore students joined nearly 6,000 college and high school students from around the world at the Power Shift 2007 Conference in College Park, Maryland. According to Power Shift’s Web site, the conference was “the first ever national youth climate summit, involving thousands of youth from all over the nation, from every walk of life, and from every racial, ethnic, income, ideological and religious group.”

Backed financially by a Swarthmore Foundation Grant, funds from the Dean’s Office and additional monies from two of the attendees, the Swarthmore contingent participated in panels, workshops and a direct action protest against Citibank. They concluded their trip, which lasted from Friday, Nov. 2 to Monday, Nov. 5, with lobbying on Capitol Hill.

Marc Engel ‘09 spearheaded efforts to take a Swarthmore contingent to the conference. He was inspired in part by Power Shift’s size and scope. “I feel that the 2007 Power Shift Conference [was] basically the apex of the youth climate movement. It’s like the 1968 democratic convention, except not partisan. This was historic – over 5,500 students from all over the country and world came to lay out a vision and solution for the climate crisis,” Engel said.

Engel also stressed Power Shift’s ability to incite activism as a significant motivator. “These types of inspiring, motivating and informing events always create new activists. I got my start as an activist at an event similar to this, and I know that if even one of the students that came had a life changing experience then it would be worth it,” he said.

While the trip was not officially sponsored by any organization on campus, members of Earthlust, Students for a Democratic Society, Swarthmore Progressive Action Committee and Good Food, among others, attended the conference. The first few days of the conference consisted of panels and workshops on topics ranging from voting issues to climate neutrality. Additionally, student attendees and panelists networked to share their experiences and resources. On Monday, attendees of Power Shift lobbied Congress on climate legislation issues. According to Engel, Swarthmore students lobbied local politicians Bob Casey, Joe Sestak and Arlen Specter.

In addition to these activities, two Swarthmore students, Greta Pittenger ‘10 and Camille Rogine ’11, also participated in a direct action initiative organized by the Rainforest Action Network against Citibank. Protesting the company’s investment in coal, the direct action led to the eventual shutdown of the bank for the day. According to RAN’s Web site http://www.ran.org, nearly 300 people participated in the protest, which involved marching in front of the D.C. branch of Citibank, performing a “cough-in/die-in” and dumping coal on the doorstep of the bank. The protest was non-violent and resulted in no arrests.

The Swarthmore contingent left the conference feeling strongly affected by the weekends’ events. “For me, it was exciting to see students like me from around the U.S. and the world converging on one place who care passionately about this issue. I guess you could call me a realist or a cynic, and I don’t usually get optimistic about things, but this conference was a new hope, in a way, that something will hopefully happen in Congress … The conference was a way for future leaders to get together and really drive their message to Congress,” attendent Blaine O’Neill ’11 said.

J.J. England ‘09 cited Power Shift’s unique viewpoint on climate issues to explain why he enjoyed the conference. “Honestly, the thing that I was most satisfied with is that people generally view global warming as just an environmental issue, and when it comes down to it, it is first and foremost a social justice issue. Global warming will have a disproportionate impact on traditionally oppressed groups such as people of color and low income communities … I feel that in order to tackle the issue of global warming, you really have to understand that first,” England said.

Engel echoed England’s sentiments and added that the conference also demonstrated the necessity for bold and confident action. “The conference showed us the importance for and strength of equality and justice in this movement. If we are going to achieve the revolution as we talk about it, the just transformation has to go with it,” Engel said.

“Schools all over this country are taking huge steps. [They are] greening their fleets and purchasing 100 percent renewable energy. I saw a school that brought all its students on a bus powered by veggie oil. I realized the time is now, and we need bold and comprehensive action,” Engel said.

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