UCSD Students Join Hands with Others
Across the Nation to Look for Solutions to Climate Change
Christine Clark | February 4, 2008
An interactive performance piece at the Price Center featured a polar bear on a mock electric chair.
Click here to view a slideshow of Focus the Nation.
“There is no magic solution, but the responsibility to save the world belongs in the hands of our youth,” UC San Diego sociology professor Ivan Evans told a Focus the Nation panel discussion on Thursday. The panel talk was one of many diverse events organized by UCSD students to recognize the first Focus the Nation event, which took place Jan. 28 to 31.
UCSD joined more than 1,000 universities to participate in the nationwide program that called for faculty and students at college campuses to discuss climate change solutions. UCSD recognized Focus the Nation by holding a campus-wide teach-in that included more than 30 faculty members.
Other events, such as a green-powered concert, green car show, sustainable art exhibition, and an interactive performance piece featuring a polar bear, helped students convey that people have the power to stop global warming.
Students’ efforts were essential in organizing Focus the Nation. But staff, including UCSD Sustainability Coordinator Maggie Souder and Kristin Blackler, an Environment and Sustainability Initiative administrative analyst, provided resources and assisted students. “I cannot say enough about how important the students were in accomplishing UCSD’s participation in the national Focus the Nation event,” Souder said.
Four bands performed in a green-powered concert.
Meagan Moore, a graduate student in the department of chemistry who helped spearhead UCSD’s Focus the Nation efforts, said the week had a positive impact on the campus community. “I think it was great to finally talk about solutions vs. doom and gloom rhetoric,” she said.
Moore helped organize the panel discussion where Chancellor Marye Anne Fox gave remarks about the importance of UCSD’s commitment to sustainable practices. At the event, faculty and politicians came together to talk about climate change solutions. Evans was joined by Richard Somerville, a professor at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and one of the nation’s leading experts on climate change and Mark Jacobsen, a professor in the department of economics. Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña and U.S. Rep. Bob Filner also sat on the panel. Filner compared the Focus the Nation teach-in to the sit-ins that he witnessed in the 1960s. He added that the problem of climate change is huge and events, such as Focus the Nation need to happen around the country.
“The discussion was great and some good points were brought up,” graduate student Moore said. “It was great to hear the faculty interacting with local experts and politicians. I really like it when people talk solutions.” In the discussion, Somerville said that finding a solution to global warming is possible, but requires leadership on a national level. Evans added that younger generations need to lead the way in finding the solutions to climate change.
The panel discussion was also the highlight for Erika Kociolek, a junior at UCSD, who helped organize several of the Focus the Nation events. Kociolek said that the teach-in was also very powerful. One of her professors, Maureen Feeley in the department of political science, decided to participate in the teach-in. “The whole lecture wasn't focused on sustainability,” she said. “But Feeley helped relate the course material to the problem of climate change and it was very helpful to students.”
Students pedaled on a bike to generate power for a concert.
Other events, such as the interactive performance piece featuring a polar bear in a faux electric chair also drew students’ attention to climate change. Bryan Ward is a sustainability program assistant who donned the polar bear costume and sat in the fake electric chair for the performance piece. During the event, Ward pretended to be electrocuted in the chair, but students had the opportunity to stop the execution by turning off the power switch. “The turnout for the event was excellent,” Ward said. “Many people that were just passing by stopped to participate by turning off the switch to the electric chair.
I thought it was great they got so involved.”
Students gathered for a green-powered concert on Thursday from 8 to 11 p.m. in front of the Geisel Library. The show was powered by solar panels and bicycles hooked up to an electric grid. Students rocked out to reggae music while others took turns riding a bike that helped power the lighting and sound.
The Sustainable Art Exhibition also used the arts to convey conservation and sustainability. The exhibition took place on the Sun God lawn throughout the week and featured work from student artists. The art on display depicted landscapes and one of the notable pieces was a vivid portrait of former Vice President Al Gore.
Souder said the diversity of the events helped communicate the problem of climate change to the UCSD community. “I believe the Focus the Nation events provoked some thoughtful consideration and debate,” Souder said. “It has been quite an honor to have been a part of Focus the Nation because this event is just one part of a movement that will make a difference in the future or humanity ... it is really quite humbling.”
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