Dana Fellerman
GEN 1033, Honors: Life of the Mind
Dr. McGovern
11.19.2014
On Sunday September 21th, 2014 I volunteered to march in the People’s Climate March in New York City at Columbus Circle with S.A.V.E (Stockton Action Volunteers for the Environment) with approximately 35 other students and staff representing Stockton College. The People’s Climate March is an annual event that not only takes place in New York but also around the globe where people gather from far and wide to voice their position on issues regarding the environment. These issues include global warming, fossil fuels, renewable energy, water, and other environmental issues that deserve to be brought into the spotlight for the government to take into consideration to make laws for.
The day started at around 7:00 a.m. where potential marchers and I boarded a bus to be brought to Columbus Circle to start our march. This bus ride was about two hours to two and a half hours long as Stockton College is far from New York City but once we arrived we grouped up and waited to march. While the march started at 11:30 a.m. the group and I did not start moving right away as there were so many people in the streets. During the march many people were carrying either signs that were provided by the People’s Climate March community or even brought their own homemade signs with creative slogans about the issue they were marching for. People also cheered marchers on, chanted their slogans, sung and played musical instruments to encourage bystanders to watch and make a point that these issues should not be overlooked by the government.
It took approximately six hours to march five miles from Columbus Circle, to 59th street, 6th Ave. to 42nd street and 11th Ave. then finally down 34th street to the end of the parade. While on the bus ride home I felt very accomplished that this march went well and that it was my very first serious march. It was then noted that about 400,000 people attended the march in New York City and I was astounded that so many people would take time out of their day, like the group and I, to come out and voice concerns over the environment. I find these marches very effective because a diverse amount of issues are being expressed by a variety of people and with an event as big as 400,000 people marching through the streets of New York it is hard to turn a blind eye to these issues.