Earth Justice Day
By Mia Casey, Environmental Activist and Center for a Sustainable Future Co-Founder
Earth Justice Day 2013 began as an idea championed by our beloved instructor of English and all things Green, Scott Lankford. Along with his colleagues Keith Lee and Preston Ni, Scott was selected as a Fellow with the Stanford Human Rights Education Initiative (SHREI). From his participation with SHREI, and out of a desire to bring international human rights issues to campus and make people aware of the connection between environmental destruction and the exploitation of the world’s most vulnerable populations, Earth Justice Day was born.
Scott and the Sustainability Committee spread the word far and wide about our “Dare to Care” theme for Earth Justice Day, and collaborations between clubs, classes, committees and groups on and off campus sprung up quickly. Some of the highlights from the day included a Slam Poetry event put on by Middle College students; a screening of the human trafficking expose “Not my Life”; a flash mob dance called “Gangnam for Freedom”; a visit from Princess Gaia (Gay-a); and a unique Hope for Dessert dinner fundraiser that was hosted by the Microcredit Club.
API Heritage Month Committee • Microcredit Club • U.N. Club • GSA Club • Honors Connection Club • Middle College • Anthropology Club • Center for Applied Anthropology • International Students Club • President’s Office • Student Activities • FA-PAC Interns and Faculty •Global Citizenship Curriculum Development Group • Stanford Human Rights Initiative • CSU State Chancellor/SJSU Campus Compass Program • CSM Alpha Gamma Sigma Society
“The Change I saw in students of Foothill College defined for me the lack of knowledge about slavery and how much students do care about their impact on the world.
Some were stunned, others angry, and many were sad. At the same time all of them wanted to do something drastic to affect a change. Whether that was signing petitions, initiating conversations, or just showing support at this event.
At the end of the day what I saw was Change. Change in the will of students to no longer be silent contributors to a system that supports slavery, but instead become a strong group of individuals that express an unwillingness to become a part of a silent generation.”
— Ellora Reeves, Biology Student, Intern with Foothill College Center for a Sustainable Future and Earth Justice Day Student Coordinator
