The mock funeral, complete with a eulogy, emotional student testimonies and a rendition of “Blowin’ In The Wind” by Bob Dylan, was followed by a march to the Sparty statue, where the final memorial service was held.

Davenport said the event focused mainly on health risks associated with burning coal.

“The right to clean air, clean water and a livable future is the most important thing for anyone,” she said. “As a student, I feel we are responsible for taking the next action toward developing clean, renewable energy on campus.”

The goal of the event, which is part of a campaign to get MSU to stop burning coal at the T.B. Simon Power Plant, was to raise awareness and force administration to take a more aggressive approach toward the transition to clean energy, she said.

“We feel that if the administration doesn’t take direct action right now, by the year 2020, the reputation of the school, both symbolically and physically, will be harmed beyond repair,” Davenport said.

Ken Rosenman, MSU professor in the College of Human Medicine and member of the Energy Transition Steering Committee, said although the university is highly unlikely to convert to 100 percent renewable energy in the foreseeable future, the committee’s goal is to reduce non-renewable energy production by 60 percent by 2030.

“It’s important for MSU to make sure we don’t cause disease and environmental destruction,” Rosenman said.

In a past interview, Jennifer Battle, assistant director of campus sustainability, said renewable energy technology needs to become more advanced before coal power can be removed altogether from MSU’s energy plan.

Residential College in the Arts and Humanities freshman Jenny Crakes said she thinks it is important for MSU to take part in the movement towards a more environmentally friendly world.

“I think it’s a good idea to convert to renewable energy, but I don’t think the transition will be easy,” Crakes said.

Although MSU Greenpeace was unable to present their concerns at the Board of Trustees meeting Friday because of technical difficulties, the group hoped to attract attention from MSU administrators via the mock funeral, said Adam Liter, MSU Greenpeace Vice President and student representative on the MSU Energy Transition Steering Committee.

“We’re hoping to pressure the administration to change the directive of the Steering Committee,” Liter said. “Currently, the committee is supposed to come up with a 10-20 year energy plan, which is a pretty vague goal.”

Liter said since the coal plant is relatively close to reaching its capacity, MSU won’t be able to support future energy demands on campus unless an alternative energy source is created.

“We hope to push the committee to come up with a plan that gets us off of coal and onto renewable energy as quickly as possible,” he said.