UPDATED: Sept. 21, 2019 at 5:21 p.m.

Julia Ganson describes herself as a “veteran” of climate marches. She has been protesting the government’s responses to climate change ever since the 1970s. 

On Friday, she marched alongside more than 200 people as a part of Syracuse’s 2019 Global Climate Strike. 

Syracuse was one of thousands of cities worldwide that participated in the Global Climate Strike. The movement aims to support young people launching climate strikes and to end the use of fossil fuels. 

“It’s not an important issue. It’s the issue,” Ganson said. “We’re finally gelling around the idea that climate disaster is not coming, but it’s coming a lot faster than we thought.”

Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF students and faculty gathered on the Quad at 11:30 a.m. before marching to Forman Park, on East Genesee Street. They walked on the sidewalks because they did not seek a parade permit. 

Speakers at the event talked about the global environmental crisis and criticized the  city government’s handling of it. They told the crowd that the best way to facilitate change is to vote for the right people into office. 

Members of the CNY chapter of Sunrise Movement, a national climate activist organization, and the New York Public Research Interest Group organized the Syacuse protest.

People held signs that read “Why am I studying for a future I won’t have?” and “As the oceans rise so must we.” Members of Sunrise CNY led chants like “climate change is not a lie, do not let our planet die.”

Ashley Collado, a sophmore SU student, said she was marching for her 4-year-old nephew whose childhood will be more drastically impacted than hers. The strike will raise awareness about such impacts, as many people choose not to learn about them, she said. 

“Ignorance is bliss. If people don’t want to go out and understand the issue, then they’re not going to,” Collado said.  

Emberlin Leja, an SU student and a Sunrise CNY coordinator, spoke at the march about government officials who she said are not addressing the climate crisis and about people who didn’t attend the march.

“There are people who chose not to be here today, who chose to be climate complacent,” she said. 

More needs to be done than New York state’s recently passed Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, Leja said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the act in July, aiming to drop statewide greenhouse gas emissions 85% by 2050.

State Sen. Rachel May, whose district includes Syracuse, said she “dreamed of a crowd like this” at the march. She encouraged people to vote in November’s election for the Syracuse Common Council. 

Dana Balter, a Democratic candidate for New York’s 24th Congressional District, criticized current Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) for openly supporting science while at the same time accepting donations from fossil fuel industries. She signed a Sunrise CNY pledge promising that, if she is elected, she “won’t take a dime from those industries,” she said.

“We should be able to take a deep breath and not worry about what we’re inhaling,” Balter said.

Friday’s march was the first of two strikes organized as part of  the Global Climate Strike. The first march coincides with a United Nations emergency climate summit being held on Monday. The second will be held next Friday. 

During an open mic portion of the strike, a member of the Onondaga Turtle Clan, wearing a shirt that said “Keep Calm and Stop Fracking,” spoke with his daughter by his side. He said he has been fighting water crises, and that efforts have been most effective when the community comes together as a unit.

Many students from Nottingham High School, located on East Genesee Street, attended the march. Wil Mecum, the school’s principal, was one of the only administrators in Syracuse to excuse students from class that day, according to a Facebook post. 

The event also featured musicians. Truth Speaker, a local teen who recently wrote songs to raise awareness for city violence, rapped about the seriousness of the climate crisis. 

“Together we stand. Divided we fall. Question for y’all: as the world turns how can you sit back and watch the world burn?” Truth Speaker said. 

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, details of permits were misstated. Sunrise Movement did not seek a parade permit. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on September 21, 2019 at 11:17 am

Contact Abby: akweiss@syr.edu | @abbyweiss_21