Last Friday, February 15^th, the Maryland Student Climate Coalition (MSCC) had a major victory in their campaign for a comprehensive University System-wide policy of carbon neutrality. After many months of hard work the MSCC, a coalition of students from 8 of the institutions in the University System of Maryland (USM), presented more than 11,000 petition signatures to the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents. That’s right, 11,000 signatures! That means that almost 10% of the student body in the entire university system signed on in support of this policy!

The MSCC student representatives had been preparing their presentation for weeks and spoke eloquently to the board about the broad support for carbon neutrality. “Speaking for the MSCC and the 11,000 people who signed our petition … we are deeply concerned about the fate of our planet, our society, and our future,” said Ali Adler, a freshman at the University of Maryland at College Park. “We feel that the time has come for our universities to take decisive and progressive action to combat global warming.” Ali spoke while a ‘photo petition’ slide show of student supporters, prepared by Towson University, played to ‘give a face to the thousands of signatures.’ (*humorous note: The slide show continued to play long after the presentation)

During her presentation Kelly Baker, a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore said, “University systems are both key contributors to local economies and consumers of resources. They also sit in the unique situation of being the impetus for progress, from specializing in groundbreaking research and development to training the next generation of innovators. This places an ethical burden upon higher education to use those skills to pursue climate justice.”

The student efforts were very well received. In his opening remarks Chancellor Kirwan commended the students for their hard work and dedication, and during the Q & A period the regents were interested in what else the USM could do to combat global warming. That same day the USM took a big step forward with the Chancellor’s plans for a system-wide green initiative. The regents appointed Don Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, to the position of vice chancellor of environmental sustainability. Recognizing the emerging partnership of the students and the university system Boesch remarked, “a comprehensive policy like this requires a top down vision and bottom up power.”

Students, excited about the results, held pizza parties on their campuses and are ready to move forward. “Committing to carbon neutrality would be a huge step forward for the university system and would position it as a leader among universities nationwide,” said Amanda Duzak, a junior at Towson University. “The student support for such a bold plan is overwhelming and I look forward to working with the Board of Regents to implement the policy.” The student presentation received coverage in the Baltimore Examiner, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Salisbury University Flyer, and the Washington Business Journal.

CONGRATS TO THE MSCC ON ALL OF YOUR AMAZING WORK!

**Note: Special thanks for the wonderful press release that the MSCC students wrote. Much of the material in this post is borrowed from that release.

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