As part of the Global Climate Strike movement, students from Nashville participated in a Climate Strike Friday, Sept. 20. Among them were Vanderbilt’s Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility (SPEAR) members.
The event, organized by the Sunrise Movement, garnered about 250 participants, according to a Sept. 20 article in The Tennessean. Students participated in the two-fold event which included both a protest and a rally in front of the Tennessee State Capitol building.
About 20 SPEAR students attended the strike at the Capitol, which took place at 6 p.m. The organization was invited to participate by Sunrise Movement organizers.
“As the environmental club on campus, we felt that it was important to take part in standing up for an issue important to a lot of us,” SPEAR secretary Deniz Gungor said in an email to The Hustler.
Global Climate Strike is an organization leading strikes around the globe the week of Sept. 20-27 and the Sunrise Movement mobilizes young people nationwide to bring climate change to the forefront of public conversation. The Nashville branch of the Sunrise Movement worked with Global Climate Strike to organize the Climate Strike in Nashville, which drew predominantly younger people from the Nashville area.
“It was cool to see some older people there too. It really shows that this is an important issue,” Gungor said.
