U of T students organize to increase student turnout at citywide climate strike
On the beautiful fall morning of September 23, 2022, a large group of students from the University of Toronto gathered together at Sidney Smith Hall. The students participated in a rally before marching to Queen’s Park to take part in a citywide strike for the climate.
Strikes for climate action are not new. Think back to before the pandemic when there were large strikes held under the banner of “Fridays for Future.” The strike on September 23 was reminiscent of the pre-pandemic strikes, with participants espousing incredible passion and enthusiasm for climate justice.
The rally at Sidney Smith was co-organized by Amy Mann. Mann describes herself as a middleman, using her positions as the Sustainability Commissioner for the Victoria University Student Administrative Council (VUSAC) and an organizer with Climate Justice UofT to bring the two groups together to organize the strike. She is also involved with Fridays for Future (the group organizing the citywide strike at Queen’s Park) as a member of their university committee. Ultra Vires sat down with Mann to better understand the objectives of the rally and the demands of the Sustainability Commission and Climate Justice UofT.
This is the first year that a rally for U of T students has been organized by Climate Justice UofT and VUSAC to coincide with the citywide climate strike. The leaders decided to organize the rally to get more U of T students engaged in climate issues and to help ensure a bigger turnout of university students at the citywide climate strike after a small number of students participated in 2019. Mann argues that it remains important to engage U of T students on climate issues because the University still has a long way to go to achieve the green image it tries to curate. To understand what Mann is referring to, one only has to look at the demands of the Sustainability Commission and Climate Justice UofT, as follows:
(1) The University of Toronto should, at a minimum, match or exceed the City of Toronto’s plan to lower emissions and better utilize its many resources and experts to help achieve its climate action plan; (2) the University of Toronto must increase transparency around its investment policy; (3) the federated colleges of the University of Toronto must divest from fossil fuels; and, (4) programs should be modified to help prepare students for the reality that the future job market will be affected by climate change.
Given the large student turnout at the strike, the organizers’ work behind the scenes to mobilize the student body seemed to pay off, resulting in a more informed, collegial, and stronger student presence at the citywide climate strike. This success is one small step toward achieving VUSAC and Climate Justice UofT’s goals. If you missed the strike but feel inspired to get involved with climate advocacy on campus, VUSAC is calling on students to endorse the strike. Endorsing the strike is a simple way to support VUSAC in their dialogue with the U of T administration because it demonstrates students care about the climate crisis and demand action from the University. Students interested in climate advocacy on campus can reach out to Climate Justice UofT to learn more about the work being done on campus to address the climate crisis.
