SNG recruits new activists

In recent weeks, student activists have been furiously recruiting for Powershift, trying to expand interest for the conference — which will be held in Washington, D.C. on April 15-18 — beyond the crowd already passionate about environmental action on campus. This effort is part of a larger College initiative to diversify participation in student organizations and other activities.

Powershift is a youth conference run by the Energy Action Coalition, a network of 50 youth-led environmental and social justice groups dedicated to making an impact in the climate movement. The last Powershift conference was held in 2009, and 215 Middlebury students  — about 10 percent of the College population — attended the many panels and events tailored to creating activists who would be ready to keep making a difference once they returned to campus. This year, the event's organizers predict that over 10,000 students — double the attendance of the last conference — will descend on the D.C. Convention Center in order to take part in their "training boot camp."

With the conference two months away, organizers are focused on getting students to register for the event.

The mark of Sunday Night Group (SNG) is evident on most of the recruitment events. SNG organized a flash mob on Monday in Proctor Dining Hall and a registration drive later that night in the Grille to get students excited for the conference. On Feb. 13, SNG sent out an all-campus e-mail calling on students to sign up for Powershift, and with even this minimal amount of outreach they managed to sign up 194 students, bringing them much closer to their goal of signing up 250 students for the conference.

According to Rhiya Trivedi ’12.5, one of the students heading this recruitment effort, their outreach is mostly targeted at expanding Powershift attendance beyond “the predictable crew” and “making the environmental movement more inclusive.”

“We need to make sure the group of kids that go down to D.C. mirror the full spectrum of diversity that exists at Middlebury,” said Trivedi. “That is really the hope.”

This push to diversify involvement in environmental activism was in part inspired by a retreat held in Kirk Alumni Center during Winter Term that focused on diversity on campus in regards to student organizations and other social, academic and extra-curricular activities in campus. Trivedi attended this retreat, which was sponsored by Dean of the College and Chief Diversity Officer Shirley Collado.

Participants in the retreat hoped to find ways to encourage collaboration between the many different student organizations on campus.

“It's of critical importance that students get opportunities to collaborate with different student organizations that have different interests,” said Collado. “A common theme at Middlebury, and it's not unique in this category, is that students want to make connections around similar passions, but don't know how, even though the wish is there.”

SNG’s hope to motivate a large group of people to attend Powershift, and in turn bring the lessons and excitement gained at the conference back to campus, is not a new sentiment.

In the March 5, 2009 issue of the Campus, an article on Powershift quoted Nathan Blumenshine ’09.5, expressing a similar excitement at the possibilities that come with assembling such a large group of student activists.

“It’s awesome to see so many inspired young leaders in the same place for the same reason,” said Blumenshine. “Knowing we have 10 percent of the student body that is willing to travel, listen and change their habits for the weekend gives me hope that we can reach the whole campus instead of just SNG.”

Trivedi struck a similar note this year, focusing on the College’s environmental pedigree as a reason it is so important that Middlebury has a large presence at the conference.

“The fact that a small school in a small state can carry so much weight in environmental issues is a source of immense pride for Middlebury,” said Trivedi. “It's probably the reason I came here. Part of living up to this reputation is having all these people go.”

Although the retreat did not singularly inspire this frenetic recruitment, it did push SNG to target several specific groups on campus.

SNG has been reaching out to cultural organizations — like Distinguished Men of Color (DMC) and Alianza — athletic teams and other organizations trying to get students involved in environmental activism.

Kenny Williams ’11, president of DMC, and Virginia Shannon ’11, co-captain of the women’s squash team, have been instrumental in helping SNG’s recruiting efforts.

“[Athletic Director] Erin Quinn has been very receptive to Powershift and helped us contact all coaches and captains to use as avenues to all the varsity teams," said Shannon. "Though it is difficult to cut energy usage in athletics and maintain a competitive program, it is crucial for athletes to be engaged and active in the environmental movement. Middlebury athletes are also a main connection to the greater Middlebury community and have a unique opportunity to represent the school on many occasions during their four-years here. Involvement from athletes here is a clear way to show Middlebury's dedication to clean energy and a goal of carbon neutrality."

“Students don't always sees themselves as part of the story, and these are the people the leadership is targeting to recruit,” said Collado, describing SNG’s efforts. “The problem we always have in student organizations is that we are preaching to the choir. If you want to see the energy continue, you need to find out what part of the narrative you are working on is not inclusive, and expand it. That is very important.”

Targeted outreach towards other people interested in the environment on campus who have not yet been active with Powershift — like members of the Middlebury Mountain Club (MMC) and Solar Decathlon, Residential Sustainability Coordinators and students taking classes in the Environmental Studies department — has also been prioritized.

Trivedi noted that participants would have the option of camping in national park land outside D.C. during the conference, which she hoped was a perk that would push MMC members to register.

Schumann Distinguished Scholar Bill McKibben agreed that recruiting a diverse group of people to attend the conference — not only at the College, but also at other participating schools — is time well-spent.

“One of the things that would be great is a lot of international students, because we need to carry this message far and wide,” wrote McKibben in an e-mail. “In the past, other countries — at least the UK and Australia — have had Powershift gatherings of their own precisely because students who were visiting here saw the power of the gathering.”

Collado echoed this statement: “Recruiting diverse people, not the typical players, could inspire students here to see how relevant this is to all of us.”

SNG is also working on raising funding to provide scholarships for students who want to attend the conference and may not be able to afford it. The commons offices and the Alliance for Civic Engagement have provided the funds for these scholarships, which are awarded in an anonymous process.

SNG members are also seeking funding for transporting the over 200 people they hope will travel down to D.C. in April.  The Environmental Council, the SGA Finance Committee, the President’s office and Environmental Affairs have also been approached by SNG for funding. Trivedi estimates that SNG will need to fundraise 8,000-10,000 dollars — mostly to help pay for the buses —  but she is “not worried” because “the money exists.”

Although SNG’s focus now is simply on getting people to Powershift, their recruitment efforts highlight how important activists find the environmental and political issues tackled at the conference, and how timely it is to hold another Powershift conference this year.

“The biggest change since last time is that the politics of climate has gotten steadily worse,” wrote McKibben in an e-mail. “The failure of Copenhagen, and then of the [U.S.] Senate to take any action and finally last fall's congressional elections, have made it clear that an ‘elite strategy’ of persuading key people hasn't worked, and we need a real mass movement, of which Powershift could be a key component.”

Trivedi thought that compared to Powershift 2009, there is a lot less to be excited about in the climate movement, which is why it is so important to get new people involved now.

“Two years ago, there were so many reasons to excite the base,” said Trivedi. “There was impending legislation in Congress that would regulate greenhouse gases, Copenhagen was just down the road ... and since then, things have kind of resumed their status of interest only to the wonky and the really involved. Maybe I’ve got it backwards, this is why we need this, because there is very little to be hopeful about right now, at least as far as regulation in the U.S., so maybe that justifies this all the more. But still, it is difficult to be doing this same thing at a fundamentally different time.”

Until Feb. 27, registration for Powershift costs $50. After Sunday, it will cost $65. You can sign up at www.powershift2011.org, or contact Sunday Night Group at sng@middlebury.edu.

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