Power Shift draws record participation

Author: Kelly Janis

With 184 students signed up as of Monday, the College has registered more participants for the second annual Power Shift Youth Climate Conference than any other institution in the nation.

"The organizers of the conference are really impressed with us, which is an amazing feeling," said Ben Wessel '11, one of several Sunday Night Group (SNG) members integral in bringing students to the event, which will be held from Feb. 27 to March 2 in Washington, D.C. "Being the climate-y loser I am, they're the people I look up to."

The conference is expected to bring over 10,000 young people to the nation's capital to lobby members of Congress to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation, and will feature appearances by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, several mayors and congressmen, activists Van Jones and Majora Carter and musical guests Santagold and The Roots.

Late last week, planning for the trip hit an unexpected snag when the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership (CCAL) reminded SNG of a rule implemented last year restricting College-reimbursed travel outside of a 300-mile radius. As a result, the group will not be able to take as many personal vehicles as previously anticipated, and must charter an additional bus. This will double the expected cost of the trip to approximately $18,000. To help cope with the increase, participating students are being asked to pay $40 each, rather than the $20 originally stipulated.

Although organizers were initially concerned about the effect this would have on participation, students flocked to the Chateau Grand Salon on Sunday evening to pay the difference without complaint. The group is also receiving financial support from the Commons, the Environmental Council, the Alliance for Civic Engagement and several private donors. If this proves insufficient, SNG will take out a loan from the SGA Finance Committee.

"I was carrying $2,300 in my book bag this morning," Wessel said. "It spilled on the floor of Bi Hall. It was crazy."

Planners still have a few kinks to work out - namely, housing.

"We will have places to stay," said Jacob Udell '12, another organizer, noting that many alumni have offered up couches.

"There will be at least 15 people in my house, and tents in my backyard," said Wessel, a D.C. native. "It's going to be tight. But it's working itself out."

Udell said the group plans to mitigate the scattered lodging by convening Middlebury-specific activities in the city.

"It's hard to get people excited if there's not one main hub of activity," he said.

"Last year was a total bonding experience," Wessel said. "This year, we're going to have an old-guard, new-guard, Middlebury SNG alum throw-down."

Udell and Wessel are excited by the diversity of the group taking shape.

"A lot of them aren't really SNG people yet," Udell said.

He expects Power Shift to permanently hook students who may have originally been motivated by an inexpensive trip to D.C. and a free t-shirt and "open up environmental activism to the whole campus."

"People think of SNG as intimidating, which weirds me out, because I think of it as super-welcoming," Wessel said. "That's not how the perception should be. So we're going to fix that."