Students gathered in front of the Luria Library on West Campus this Friday to march towards De La Guerra Plaza in downtown Santa Barbara to raise awareness for the climate crisis.
Phi Theta Kappa, City College’s Honor Program, set up a sign making station, plant potting stand, and informational booths for students to prepare for the Climate March happening later that day.
Layla Tondravi, Phi Theta Kappa’s Vice President, said the march was inspired by 16 year old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who initiated FridaysForFuture, a weekly strike she hosts on Fridays to raise awareness for climate change.
Signs read things like “Climate change is NOT cool,” “Save the earth” and “We stand with Greta,” in various foreign languages such as Spanish, Chinese and Swedish.
“We want to show that we not only stand with SBCC but also represent part of community,” said Zoe Donnenfield, a student leader with Phi Theta Kappa.
Students and faculty held their signs high as they marched through the harbor, down the boardwalk, along the beach, and through downtown on State Street.
“I need to study and I’m already losing time by doing this, but this is more important than my grades,” said student participant Mistea Salazar as she was painting a sign.
While many students came together for the march on campus, other students and community members were already downtown where they would all unify at noon. The group of marchers left campus at 11:45 a.m. to meet up with other participating groups downtown and welcomed anyone who wanted to join.
On campus, Phi Theta Kappa worked in collaboration with the Biology Club and the Ambassador’s Club to recruit students for the march and asked them to scan a QR code in support of the compost initiative, an effort to bring more compost bins to campus.
“I’m planning to team up with a non-profit organization, work with the city, and get everything in ordinance,” Donnenfield said. “Instead of doing it on my own, I thought it would be a good idea to team up with non-profits.”
The Ambassador’s Club offered students a chance to measure their ecological footprint online through the Global Footprint Network’s Ecological Footprint Calculator, which calculates the amount of planets it would take to sustain their lifestyle if every person lived the same way.
“As being part of the campus’ Biology Club it’s important to recognize our environment is in danger,” said Sophie Cameron, a student representative for the Biology Club.
Another strike will take place next Friday as part of the Global Climate Strike, led by Greta Thunberg. Thunberg will also speak at the United Nations Youth Climate Summit taking place Saturday, Sept. 21.
“This is us standing with her and bringing a light to climate change,” Tondravi said.
