By Emily Swope ‘22, Feature Writer

On Friday, September 20, millions of people in more than 150 countries came together to protest and march in central locations and in front of city halls to demand urgent action on the issue of climate change. Greta Thunberg, 16-year old Swedish climate activist, started this initiative with weekly school strikes on Fridays, creating the #FridaysForFuture movement. Thunberg and her co-activists vow to keep striking every week until they see a change. Greta Thunberg is an incredibly passionate hero in the realm of environmental issues who spreads her beliefs through powerful striking and nonviolent protest.

Similarly, Newark Academy often encourages students to advocate through nonviolent protest. Thus, NA administration supported students in participating in local climate strikes by excusing their absences. On September 20, thirty-five Newark Academy students, led by the school’s Green and Blue Committee, accompanied Greta as she led a massive strike in the heart of New York City, while other NA students rallied at the local strike in Morristown.

Our students marched through the streets among similarly-passionate peers bearing signs and banners, both serious and creative, reinforcing the urgency of the climate change matter.  From signs simply saying “There is no planet B” to children protesting “Allow me to have a future,” these signs allowed students to express themselves and their own individual positions as they came together to form a cohesive union for a common cause.

In addition to creating signs to express their views, Newark Academy students Molly Breckman ‘23 and Sophia Ludtke ‘20 gave speeches during the Morristown strike. Echoing Greta Thunberg’s ideas of tackling climate change through decisive action, Sophia declared, “The one thing we need more than hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will come.”  Similarly, Molly added, “It’s time to create chaos. Act like our lives depend on it — because they do.”

Both Molly and Sophia advocate similar and important points: the only way to combat this climate change crisis is to proactively act and make changes in our own lives to reduce our harmful impact on the environment. Fellow climate activist, Penelope Jennings ‘22, remarked about the need for action: “While I like to think that no action is too small, we are in dire need of wide scale, major change from politicians and billionaires who have the power to do a lot of important work that they have not done.”

On a more local scale, the students at Newark Academy, especially those involved in the Green and Blue Committee, are extremely passionate about making lifestyle changes in order to “go green” and learning about and understanding the negative repercussions of our actions. Therefore, we as a Newark Academy community are capable and willing to do whatever it takes to create a more sustainable, efficient way of living and existing inside of our school and general communities. From attending the Climate Strike and demanding action to making changes in our own school community, Newark Academy students are able and excited to combat climate change and other environmental concerns currently plaguing our world.