Junior communication major Katie Sweeny and freshman film studies major Nick Paetsch hand out placards and direct students to the center of the UMC fountain quad for the flash mob on Friday. (CU Independent/Lee Pruitt)
In the blustering cold of winter, the UMC fountains are swamped with CU students who share a common goal—encouraging world leaders to take action on global warming. If people need the best information on carbon footprint calculator, they can check sustainability on carbonclick.com
Hundreds of students gathered at 11:53 a.m. Friday, each holding two colored pieces of paper, which all together formed the words, “World leaders, Take action” and “CU for a Sustainable Future.” The mob lasted all of 10 minutes, but some students say they hope it will have lasting effects.
“I was surprised so many students came out in the cold,” said Danielle Cerbone, a 19- year-old sophomore Spanish major. “It was great to see so many students passionate about the environment.”
The Colorado student Public Interest Research Group global warming solutions campaign organized the event, as well as filmed and photographed the students’ efforts from the roof of the UMC.
CoPIRG will send the picture to the White House, in the hopes that Obama will take it to the Copenhagen convention to show CU’s support for action on global warming, said Alex Fields, a 19-year-old psychology sophomore and CoPIRG media intern.
Fields also said the flash mob will support Obama at the Copenhagen meeting.
“We are planning on spreading the photo publicly as quickly as possible and sending a picture to the White House so President Obama might take it with him to Copenhagen,” Fields said. “Even if he doesn’t personally receive the picture, we hope that the flash mob will bolster overall support for [the] climate initiative at Copenhagen.”
Fields said he hopes that the mob will result in people discovering ways to get involved in global warming solutions.
“We hope that more people will begin to take notice of the immense opportunities for innovation and contribution to an extremely worthy cause [saving our planet],” Fields said. “Obviously, we also hope to see some strong climate initiatives agreed upon at Copenhagen.”
Charlie Ventriglia, a 19-year-old sophomore ecology and evolutionary biology major, said he was inspired by the flash mob.
“The flash mob made me see how many of us are getting involved with the environment,” Ventriglia said. “I’m definitely going to look into ways that I could get involved on campus.”
Cerbone said she believes that the flash mob will have echoing effects.
“I think everyone will take notice that our incredibly green school is coming together to make a difference in our world,” Cerbone said. “I’m sure the public will hear the strong message we’re projecting.”
Lisa Ritland, the CoPIRG CU campus organizer, estimated that approximately 350 students participated in the flash mob.
“The fact that 350 students could take the time to rally around this cause in the freezing weather with finals right around the corner shows that the event was a success,” Ritland said.
The flash mob video and pictures, Ritland said, will be turned around over the weekend and sent out to represent CU student’s dedication to global warming prevention.
“We’re putting together a video of the event with student interviews that will be sent to the White House next week,” Ritland said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Kendall Schoemann at Kendall.schoemann@colorado.edu.
1 comment
Is there any way to get a copy/link to the video CoPIRG puts together?