Students Rise For Climate Change
Tal Netz (11-3)
Photographed by Theo Wyss-Flamm (12-4)
On December 6th, hundreds of students filled Thomas Paine Plaza chanting: “What do we want? - A Green New Deal! - When do we want it? - Now!” The demand for a Green New Deal was only one of the forefront issues that climate activists were demanding. They also called for “right to breathe legislation,” which opposes the PES Oil Refinery that releases toxic chemicals into our city, posing a major health risk to civilians, particularly those in low-income neighborhoods. The Sunrise Movement wants to combat this by pushing the city to ban the large scale use of hydrofluoric acid. Additionally, climate strikers took a stand to end the ten-year tax abatement, “which is taking money away from our schools and putting it in the pockets of wealthy real estate owners,” in the words of Carmen Siftar (11-3). Among the favorite strike chants was “U - G - L - Y corporate scum you cheat you lie,” a reference to the wage gap in Philadelphia and its effect on environmental racism and avoidance of this pressing issue.
Carmen held a leadership role at the strike as the event’s MC. Carmen is also a leading member of Sunrise Masterman. With the help of Carmen and other Sunrise members, an estimated 100 students from Masterman attended the strike, an increase from the previous 70-80 attendees at the September strike. Sunrise Masterman, in cooperation with other hubs, was able to get the attention of Superintendent William R. Hite and persuaded him to excuse absences on the day of the strike. “As a school district, we encourage our students to be actively engaged citizens who are knowledgeable about current events. Above all, we want them to know we value their voices and their right to self-expression,” Hite said in a letter that went out to the whole school district.
This affirmation, however, was not appreciated by all teachers, many of whom who were concerned about students taking the option of an excused absence just to skip school. Math teacher Ms. Smith is an avid supporter of the climate justice movement, and she considers it the defining crisis of our time. As such, she has made lifestyle changes to be more environmentally conscious, like giving up her car, doing a solar audit of her house, and overall being more mindful of food waste and composting. She does, however, feel that the strike on the 6th was not an effective way to make substantive change. “As an activist, you have to be willing to lose something. It has to be inconvenient to be an activist. When activism is convenient, it takes away the seriousness of the matter. I found that having a strike on a Friday at 11:00 AM on a beautiful day, that is then supported by the School District who says ‘Hey you can go and there is absolutely no cost to you,’ does not invite students who give off the vibe that they are civically engaged.” Ms. Smith feels that sweat equity is necessary to make a true change. If the strike were held at an inconvenient time after school and thousands showed up, that would demonstrate a true initiative that would grab the attention of lawmakers who have the capability to make a change in our legislation. Either way, however, she supports any youth movement that wants to create change.
With growing media coverage and intensity of the climate crisis, the movement is gaining momentum. State Representative Elizabeth Fiedler, who spoke at the rally, suggests to talk to a friend, or five, and get them involved with the cause. There is power in numbers, and with large numbers, politicians cannot ignore the crisis. “Even if the School District had not excused the strike, I still would’ve gone because I believe in the cause and I wanted to be present there,” said Lola Milder (11-3). This is the attitude that is necessary to draw civically engaged students to contribute to the cause.
Photographed by Theo Wyss-Flamm (12-4)