Students march on Bryan Hall

Eighteen campus and local organizations took a stand against global warming Tuesday, as about 20 representatives marched to IU President Michael McRobbie’s office with the hope of having him sign an agreement to participate in the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. \nThe hopes were delayed, as an employee in McRobbie’s office accepted the documents on his behalf and said she would present them to him upon his return to the office.\nThe commitment calls for the University to form and implement a plan of climate neutrality within two years of being signed, something that Kasey Swanson, the campus organizer of the Indiana Public Interest Research Group, thinks is absolutely necessary for IU.\n“IU is incredibly well poised to be a leader in climate neutrality,” Swanson said. “We are concerned citizens and students that want McRobbie to take this seriously as one of his biggest concerns.”\nThe various organizations from Bloomington and IU came together to ask McRobbie to join the other 427 colleges nationally that have already signed the agreement, Swanson said. Among the organizations represented were INPIRG and IU Green Campus, while other organizations participated by signing the request to join the commitment.\n With four of the 427 colleges from Indiana alone, there are high hopes among the organizations that IU will be the first school in the Big Ten to sign on.\n“What we do today, or what we don’t do, will have severe effects on the environment,” said Dave Rollo, Bloomington City Council president. “We must proceed – we really don’t have a choice.”\nThe amount of student groups willing to participate in the movement is something that shows the importance of acting now, said Sarah Combellick-Bidney, student organizer of IU Green Campus. \n“Never before in University history have we seen the cooperation we see today,” Combellick-Bidney said. “There’s not a more perfect time to show our support.”\nMembers of the various student groups attended the rally to show their support of the new initiative. Carley Knapp, a member of INPIRG and the Campus Climate Challenge, said IU needs to show its support to mirror the feelings of students because other problems the country faces might not be addressed until global warming is controlled.\n“Universities play a role in coming up with solutions, and they have the resources to do it,” Knapp said. “We need to show IU’s willingness to be a leader in this commitment.”\nRollo said he has high expectations for IU as a leader in the fight against global climate change.\n“The city cannot succeed without the expertise of our great University,” Rollo said. “I am confident IU will meet the challenge.”