Around two dozen participants gathered at the fountain by the Student Union Dec. 4 to raise awareness for and stand in solidarity with those affected by climate change, in the wake of the COP21 summit in Paris. After speeches by members of the community and students, the participants marched around campus and the square with signs. Later the group held a meeting in the Student Union to discuss climate change issues and activism.
Chloe Jackson, one several Truman students participating, gave speech about climate change from a student’s perspective. She says she hopes the march will show observers and participants that there are people in rural Missouri that care about the effects of climate change.
Ethan Hughes, the co-founder of The Possibility Alliance, a sustainable living community in La Plata, spoke first at the event. He says the consequences of climate change are being felt all over the world.
“We want to get Northeast Missouri on board with taking care of creation,” Hughes says.
Hughes says he sees the protest as an invitation to Truman and A.T. Still University to implement greater environmental sustainability.
“There’s no reason to wait for the governments of the world to make shifts that we know will be better [than current policies],” he says.
