2009.11.12 Press Release
University of Missouri Coal-Free Campaign Heats up_11-12-09
University of Missouri Coal-Free Campaign Heats Up -
Students Turn Out in Force, Rally for Cleaner Energy on Campus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 12, 2009
Contact: Ryan Doyle, Cell: (218) 390-9561
University of Missouri Coal-Free Campaign Heats Up
Students Turn Out in Force, Rally for Cleaner Energy on Campus
Columbia, MO: Students and faculty at University of Missouri (Mizzou) turned up the heat Wednesday on their efforts to eliminate coal use in Mizzou’s power plant and clear the way for clean energy as part of the national Campuses Beyond Coal campaign, led by the Sierra Club, taking place on more than 60 college campuses. About 40 students assembled in Mizzou’s Speaker’s Circle yesterday, before marching to the MU Power Plant to call on the University to move beyond coal to clean energy solutions. Almost 40 years after the massive Earth Day demonstrations, these students say they are picking up where their parents’ generation left off—fighting for a cleaner future. This time the issue is coal.
Junior Tyler Hutcherson, coordinator of grassroots efforts for Coal Free Mizzou, said, “Global Warming is the single greatest challenge our generation will face and coal is the most carbon intensive and dirty fuel we use. Mizzou has made some great steps in sustainability in the past few years, said Hutcherson. However, there is no plan in place to meet the urgent need to move beyond coal, and to do so as quickly as possible. Coal is too dirty for Mizzou, and most students are shocked that we get over 80 percent of our energy from this incredibly destructive fuel. It’s time we take the lead and address the elephant in the room.”
The demonstration Wednesday followed an important meeting between student leaders and University of Missouri Chancellor Brady Deaton and Vice Chancellor Jackie Jones, which took place the day prior to the rally and focused on a discussion about the need to move beyond coal at Mizzou. According to Junior Melissa Vatterott of Coal Free Mizzou, the meeting with Deaton and Jones went quite well, but the students are pushing for the Chancellor to follow through and commit to a plan and a timetable for phasing out coal at MU. “We really appreciated Chancellor Deaton’s willingness to meet face to face with students, his accessibility, and his strong support of our vision and goals. Coming out of that meeting, we feel confident of the opportunities ahead, but this is not an issue that can be adequately addressed without a serious plan and commitment by the University administration that will take immediate steps forward.”
The assembly, which consisted of a guest speech by Dr. Larry Brown of the Geography Department, and two short pep speeches by Coal Free Mizzou Campaign Co-Chairs, Mallory Schillinger 2011 and Vatterott, incorporated some impressive displays of hand crafted, paper mache props, including a seven foot tall wind turbine and a model MU Power Plant, covered with stickers proclaiming, “Powered by Dirty Coal.” The demonstration ended after students marched to the MU Power Plant with their renewable energy props, with Schillinger leading in chants such as, “It’s clear, no more debate, no more coal in the Show-Me-State!”
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