Flash mob begins protest against coal plant
Human biology junior Tiffany Cotton holds a banner that reads “President Simon, protect our health, no more coal” at a clean energy demonstration Wednesday afternoon in front of administration building. MSU Beyond Coal and MSU Greenpeace hosted the protest, calling the end of the coal-burning T.B. Simon Power Plant on campus.
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Yesterday afternoon, about 60 people danced at the plaza of the Administration Building. Although the dancers began their flash mob on a positive note, the performance took a serious turn when participants put on surgical masks and held up signs with statistics about the danger of coal plants.
Members of MSU Beyond Coal campaign and MSU Greenpeace teamed up to organize a flash mob and rally protesting the T.B. Simon Power Plant, the largest coal plant on a college campus according to the groups. The students’ aimed to bring attention to the dangers of coal as an energy source.
“We want to educate people and tell them about where they get their energy on campus,” said supply chain management junior Eric Price, media coordinator of MSU Beyond Coal campaign.
“Many people don’t really know … they get their energy from one of the most destructive nonrenewable energy sources in the world.”
Price said to bring attention to the issue in a unique way, the groups decided it would be best to begin the protest with a flash mob. Students danced to songs with pre-choreographed dance moves: “Cha Cha Slide,” “Jump Around” and “Cupid Shuffle.”
Video: Flash mob for clean ...
“We chose a flash mob because it is a good way to get a lot of people involved in something that will deliver our message,” history, philosophy, and sociology of science sophomore Jordan Lindsay, a member of MSU Greenpeace said. “Flash mobs are usually happy, fun things, but it was interrupted by a serious message.”
Toward the end of the performance, English senior Talya Tavor, MSU Beyond Coal president, shouted for the music to be stopped and read a slam poem about energy.
After Tavor spoke, Michigan Campaign Director of Clean Water Action Nick Clark; assistant professor in the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Research Studies Robbie Richardson; and senior consultant of 5 Lakes Energy and former Mayor of East Lansing Douglas Jester spoke in front of the Administration Building.
Once they finished, students called MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon and members of the MSU Board of Trustees, leaving messages urging them to retire the coal plant and move to 100 percent clean energy.
“We cannot stand to see our public health being ignored,” Tavor said in a voicemail to Simon.
Tavor said she has talked to Simon and members of the MSU Board of Trustees in the past, but no action has been taken to close the coal plant.
“They say this isn’t something (the university) is going to do right now,” Tavor said.
Jennifer Battle, assistant director of campus sustainability, said in a past interview changes will need to be made, but the technology is not yet sufficient to meet MSU’s needs.
But Tavor said both MSU Beyond Coal Campaign and MSU Greenpeace said they are not giving up on the cause any time soon.
“We’re ready to move off of coal,” Tavor said. “We want 100 percent renewable energy.”
Commentary
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Reality check
(10/20/11 11:00am)Report
I can appreciate the strong feelings on this subject, but are you taking the right actions? When Beyond Coal held their December forum and invited speakers well-versed in the realities of alternative energy, there was a consensus: Real change will take time, and groups like Beyond Coal should work with the university instead of voicing the same unrealistic platitudes. You can’t just pack up the power plant. There are no energy options you can just swap it out for. MSU Beyond Coal, if you really want to get beyond it, you have to work with it first. Also, to say MSU is burying it’s head is untrue. The energy transition committee and office of campus sustainability are working hard to come up with realistic options. Bottom line is: Wishing won’t make this happen and blaming the university only polarizes opinions.
Reality needed more checking
(10/20/11 11:29am)Report
My apologies for the mistake, I meant the energy forum on March 31st, don’t know why I thought it was in December.
Clarification
(10/20/11 12:20pm)Report
These groups are not asking for the university to shut down the coal plant today, tomorrow or even next week—obviously that is not a possiblity. They are asking for a commitment to ensure that eventually the coal plant WILL be retired. And that eventuality with the given that it will be done as soon and aggressively as possible.
Agreed
(10/20/11 1:22pm)Report
Agreed, the campus should move towards replacing the coal plant. But it should be done with sustainability and long-term conservation as the goal, not as a reactive response. If MSU goes with the wrong energy option and it doesn’t pan out, the whole campus will grind to a halt.
That’s why it takes a long time and why MSU Beyond Coal should be more involved in the decision-making process, as opposed to frustrating the large population within the university who ARE helping but feel marginalized by such displays.
DD
(10/20/11 2:49pm)Report
Another incomprehensibly facile student protest. Until “green” means competitive renewable energy rather than a con for crony capitalists, we are going to have to create and save capital by producing more of our own gas and oil, and relying more on nuclear power and coal. The power for your prius, volt or Ipod is likely electric power generated through coal production. The technology for competitive renewable energy sources is simply not available at this time and will not be for the near future. Not because of some vast conspiracy of the evil fossil fuel industry but because the technology has not been developed. Government so called investments in the green sector have been dismal failures in Europe and now in the US. There is a market, and when those in the free market eventually develop that technology it will be introduced and eventually take the place of carbon based fuel sources. However, to genuflect to the simple paradigm that coal =s bad is not sensible and is indicative of a lack of true intellectual analysis in favor of an expediant political rallying cry.
Bree
(10/20/11 6:31pm)Report
It’s easy to criticize the university for using coal, but please remember that the university isn’t using coal as a Conservative fashion statement: It’s using coal because it’s cheap. As a tuition-paying student, I shudder at the thought of yet another tuition hike to pay for new power infrastructure and more expensive fuel to make our university hippie-friendly.