Dear Reed College President and Dean of Faculty, 

On Friday, September 20, 2019, young people around the world will be leading a Global Climate Strike to draw attention to the climate crisis that threatens our future. We are in a state of global emergency, and we need to start acting like it. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that we currently only have eleven years left to keep global warming below 1.5 °C, with even half a degree higher leading to irreversible global catastrophe (1). While scientists and leaders around the world have agreed that climate change has escalated to an international emergency, the status quo has continued with business as usual. 

Powerful institutions, while claiming to have concern for this issue, have not taken the necessary steps to institute policies to stave off this existential catastrophe, and have generally shied away from taking a strong public stance on this issue. This is especially true with institutions of higher education, which on the one hand seek to foster active engagement and critical inquiry in their students, while simultaneously refusing to take a public stance on the issue that most threatens their students’ futures. The clock is ticking, and it is time that powerful institutions, especially institutions of higher education, take an active and public role in leading the way towards a more sustainable future. 

Around the world, young people are organizing the September 20th Climate Strike to send a strong message that society can no longer continue with business as usual. School strikers are calling on everyone ― young people, parents, workers, and all concerned people ― to join the world’s largest climate strike on September 20th to demand an end to the age of fossil fuels. This strike will be a historic moment, as it is expected to be by far the largest climate strike to date, with millions of people participating around the world. In Portland, a march and rally will be held outside of City Hall beginning at 10:30 a.m. to demand an Oregon Green New Deal and an end to fossil fuels here in Oregon. This event is expected to draw thousands of people, including the many Reed College students who will be walking out of their classes in solidarity. 

Our requests for the President’s Office and the Dean of Faculty are as follows: 

1. We ask that Reed College officially call the school day off as a demonstration of solidarity with the Global Climate Strike. In addition, we ask that faculty and staff are compensated as usual, and in no way penalized if they choose to participate in the strikes with their students. 
2. We ask that Reed College publicly announce an endorsement of the Global Climate Strike in solidarity with their concerned students and with young people everywhere. 
3. We ask Reed College to make a strong and unwavering commitment to climate justice, by instituting policies which promote a more sustainable future. 

Climate change is not a partisan or political issue; it is a moral and existential issue that directly threatens the futures of all Reed College students. The Reed College community will be stronger and more united if administrators display solidarity and join us in striking. Taking a public stance on this issue will build our community by attracting educators and students who value  justice, equity, and peace in the world.

The above signed and many more will be going on strike on September 20, 2019. We hope to be supported by Reed College in this historic moment. 

Thank you for your consideration.

1. United Nations General Assembly, 28 March, 2019. https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm