“The outdoors is the place I feel the most like my true self,” says Sydney Baron ‘22, co-coordinator of Sunrise Movement on campus. “The beauty of the Earth keeps me motivated to live every day and I turn to it when nothing else seems to feel right. The trees always help me find home.” Baron explains that Sunrise Movement is “growing [an] army of young people looking to solve the climate crisis and tackle systemic inequality at the same time by fighting for a Green New Deal.”
Sunrise Movement’s official website says, “Together, we will change this country and this world, sure as the sun rises each morning.”
Sunrise Movement got started on campus when co-coordinators Baron and Maura O’Reilly ‘20 along with other ‘Berg students, “spearheaded the effort to run Sunrise National’s strike circle curriculum here on campus,” explains Baron. “The strike circle was a six-week program that culminated in a climate strike near the end of December. The strike we held coincided with a national week of climate action — it was so exciting! From there, those involved decided to take the group to the next level and form an official Sunrise Hub on campus.”
“I always describe it as a movement of incredible joy and incredible despair.”
“I always describe it as a movement of incredible joy and incredible despair,” explains O’Reilly. “It is one of the only communities that I have been a part of [where] both feelings are given space to coexist.”
Students on campus seem to be excited about the rise of youth-led activism. Baron says, “As we are a branch of a national movement, we are not affiliated with Muhlenberg as an institution, though our group is completely comprised of and led by Muhlenberg students. Many students I’ve spoken with seem very excited about the work we are doing and I hope that enthusiasm continues to spread!”
The goals of the movement reach much further than Muhlenberg’s campus. O’Reilly says, “Our main goal is to successfully get a Green New Deal, which is a proposed plan for tackling the intertwined crises of the climate crisis and skyrocketing inequality. The Green New Deal is the only plan on the table that stops the climate crisis in an equitable way, and we recognize that all inequalities (like racial injustices, classist injustices, ableism, etc.) are bundled together — so through our work trying to stop the climate crisis, we are simultaneously working to rebuild our society into a society that works for and supports all people.”
“So through our work trying to stop the climate crisis, we are simultaneously working to rebuild our society into a society that works for and supports all people.”
The urgency of Sunrise Movement is felt by many students on campus. Marta Rardin ’20 says, “I continue to have moments of challenging the movement and my actions within it: ‘Is this going to help? Is this the right way to do it?’ But then I realize that we need to act because we don’t have time, and Sunrise is an amazingly well thought-out movement and very worth the time you put in. If we don’t act now, the consequences we pay later will be far worse.”
Gwen Wilkie ‘20 is part of the action planning committee and a member of the hub. Wilkie explained her choice to get involved, saying, “I have been feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders lately. There is so much in this world that is going wrong and so many people that are getting hurt and that will continue to get hurt if things move forward without change. I have been wanting to get involved in climate justice and really use my voice, but being only one person has rendered me feeling helpless. Sunrise has given me the opportunity to make a difference. To speak and to be heard. To surround myself with a community that inspires and supports me and shares my passion for the Earth… I can see the things that they are doing making a difference, and now I am part of that too. It is really an amazing community that encourages you to come as you are and give what you can.”
