Sometimes it seems like all of us are holding our breath. Watching and waiting for this movement to get so big, and so viral, and so strong, we don’t have enough can openers for all the whoop ass. Well friends, our moment has arrived. As the end of the semester approaches, we have some tips for keeping your campus movements poppin for the May 2 Day of Action, and making sure you’re on the bandwagon as schools across the country take action on divestment.
With 300+ campaigns for divestment running simultaneously from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters, the student divestment movement is heating up, and fast. Indeed as more voices join the anthem for divestment, and new faces arrive at late night general meetings, the ripples from campus efforts are quickly cresting into waves. It is with this momentum that we wrap up an exciting and record breaking semester and start thinking about how we can go out with a bang before leaving campus for the summer.
So, perhaps some of us feel a tad overwhelmed. Its been a busy couple months, we’ve been pushing hard, and with finals approaching, we don’t know if we can handle it all..in fact we kind of just want to get in our PJ’s and eat a pint of Chunky Monkey in one sitting. When I start getting bogged down with tasks, it help me to remember that all of our nation’s great leaders have felt stressed or overwhelmed at junctures in their lives, but they kept pushing. The best news for us is that there are MANY ways to participate in the Day of Action. In fact, even if your event doesn’t fall exactly on May 2, what is important is it that you do something, and it gets on the action map!
Whether you corner unsuspecting library goers for a photo petition, deliver petitions to decision makers, create a new media storm, plan an event or rally, or distribute Reeses to your stressed peers (has anyone noticed that the best candy known to man is the same shape and color as the orange square?!), the most important thing is that you do something to celebrate what’s gone down so far on your campus, and that you make it visible! To learn more about achieving top notch visibility, check out our Guide to Great Action Photos and our Media Wrangling Guide.
So what can my campus do for the day of action that is strategic? Lovely. Well, we at 350.org have some suggestions. You can find them HERE on our Menu of Action Ideas. Don’t just take our word for it! ask one another, investigate on facebook, or check out the Swarthmore Mountain Justice website, or the Vermont Student Climate Culture blog for some ideas about how to keep your campaign steamy. One of THE MOST important things, is whether you are covering a tree on campus with climate justice commitments on orange squares (like Mount Holyoke College) or dying vests (get it?) at the University of Vermont, that you REGISTER YOUR ACTION! And remember….the universe has blessed us with a kick ass movement, (and Reeses peanut butter cups) so lets bring the heat this May 2nd and give them something to talk about.