Taking part in the largest climate march in history, a handful of Wittenberg students marched alongside more than 300,000 people from around the country in an act of environmental solidarity during the People’s Climate March in New York City, Sept. 20-21.

“Our students rose to the call of the march to ‘demand a better world,’ and they exemplify our mission to lead responsible civic lives & serve as global citizens,” said Professor of Geology Sarah Fortner about Carrie Schmaus ‘15 of Broomfield, Colo.; Eric Roberts ’15 of Willits, Calif.; Chloe Roth ’16 of Vermillion Ohio; Max Joseph‎ ’17 of Columbus, Ohio; and Cameron Black ’17 of Chenango Fork, N.Y.

Schmaus, a biology major and marine science minor, whose main areas of interest include conservation and sustainability, is president of the student organization PoWER, the Parliament of Wittenberg's Environmental Revolution.

“Environmental issues have always been important to me, so I jumped at the chance to participate in an event that would raise awareness of such a crucial issue,” Schmaus said. “As the president of PoWER, I have a renewed sense of what we need to be doing around campus after the march. I think the first step to addressing an issue as huge as sustainability, climate change and even the lack of recycling here on campus is raising awareness, and that's what the march was—it said that we notice something is wrong, and we're not going to wait for someone else to take action for us.”

For Roberts, the march was an important opportunity to pursue his interests in sustainable agricultural development, an area of interest that he’s already exploring on campus.

“I'm working on a proposal for a sustainable garden here on campus,” explained Roberts, a sociology major with an urban studies minor. “I'm working with a few different campus resources such as the Sustainability Task Force and Physical Plant, but I would like to collaborate with other departments, including the business department for the economic aspect of growing food, and the art department for making the garden more aesthetically pleasing.”

A student on Fortner’s global climate course, Roberts has learned about the complexity of climate change and the necessity for collaboration to address such global issues that have sociological, ethical, political and economical impacts.

“We’ve heard from regional experts about how their jobs intersect with climate change, and we’ve learned that solving climate change challenges is politically complex and requires agreement between stakeholders with diverse interests,” Fortner said. “These discussions on campus, in the community and with our legislators are critical because climate change already impacts us. While our national prosperity might equip us to adapt to some of these challenges, many low latitude countries already face insurmountable suffering from drought, sea-level rise and flooding.

“Our students are doing their part to call for a better future. They are speaking out during a critical time when key decisions must be made to protect generations to come.”