Students from Washington University’s environmental and sustainability groups came together outside the Danforth University Center to educate their classmates about current environmental problems and opportunities facing their generation.

Friday, Oct. 2 was a Day of Action for the awareness-raising organization Know Tomorrow, a national student-led campaign to demand action on climate change.

Ariel Vasser | Student Life

Students involved with the Know Tomorrow campaign, a student-led climate change awareness project, talk to
students outside the Danforth University Center. The tabling was part of a National Day of Action on Oct. 2.

The tabling event was set up with five different stations hosted by student activists that highlighted the different ways students can alter their actions to benefit the planet. Attractions ranged from a bicycle-powered blender and a biodiversity station featuring stuffed animals to informational posters and a petition to illustrate student support for climate action.

Activists at the event encouraged students to take action to promote sustainability, explaining that although individual actions might not appear to have an impact, they would add up over time to have a positive impact on the future of climate change and sustainability.

Senior Alex Liguori spearheaded the event as a way to jump-start eco-friendly living habits on campus.

“We sort of see it as a splash and a ripple effect…We’re going to make a big splash [at the event], and hopefully that will lead to ripple effects in the form of small actions carried out by people every single day,” Liguori said.

Senior Rachel Westrate of Washington University Students for International Collaboration on Environment believes that climate change is such an important issue to address because its effects are universal.

“If everyone does those little things it can actually make a really big difference. I would just encourage everyone to take a look at their lifestyles and see what little sacrifices can we make to help the greater global good,” Westrate said.

A core goal of the annual Day of Action is to encourage environmental activism among millennials.

Junior Mindy Borovsky attended the event because she believes that although legislators who deal with climate change are typically older, it is the millennial generation who will be impacted most by the issue.

“We’re going to be here even longer than the people that are making decisions right now, so they need to realize that it’s not about them—it’s about us too,” Borovsky said. “We’re trying to show that all of the college students know that climate change is a thing and we want a solution.”

Sophomore Ingrid Archibald believes that climate change is not only the most pressing issue of the 21st century, but also one that can be directly dealt with by ordinary individuals.

“What we do now essentially determines the fate of not only our species but thousands of other species, and just the health of the planet, and I can’t really imagine an issue that has as large a scope as climate change does,” Archibald said.