This is kind of a last minute notice but I am trying to get approval to take some G.E.C.O. (or non-GECO) members to D.C. next Monday-Tuesday over Reading Days for an event of nonviolent civil disobedience called People vs. Fossil Fuels. If you are at all interested in this trip, please read the entire email for important information and fill out the Doodle poll so we can keep track of numbers!
This would be an overnight trip, so the hope is to leave on Monday (10/11) after lunch, attend a free "nonviolent direct action" training session on Monday evening, squeeze into a hotel room for the night, take part in civil disobedience on Tuesday, and return to campus on Tuesday (10/12) evening. Here is the link to the People vs. Fossil Fuels website: https://peoplevsfossilfuels.org - they have so much information listed here about what exactly the action is about, why the decision of civil disobedience, the logistics of the event, COVID-19 protocols, and the risks that will be taken if you choose to participate in these acts of civil disobedience. You are also encouraged to send me an email with any questions or concerns about the event if you are interested!
The website linked above sums up the event pretty well when it says "we will gather in DC for the largest civil disobedience action in decades, demanding President Biden use his executive authority to hasten the end of the era of fossil fuels." The intent of acts of nonviolent civil disobedience is to send the message that we are serious about such an important issue and that we are "willing to risk arrest, if necessary, to stand in solidarity with Mother Earth and the communities most impacted by the climate emergency." It is important to keep in mind that there is a slight chance you could get arrested and briefly held during the acts of civil disobedience, likely in the form of a "post and forfeit" (could be a $50 bail). If there is any serious legal or personal reason why you cannot be arrested, feel free to send me an email and we can try to work something out for you to still be able to support during the action, without actually partaking in the civil disobedience.
Please fill out the Doodle Poll at the end of this email (with your full name) as soon as possible so that I can see what kind of numbers we are looking at for this trip. We have not gotten official approval for this trip from the necessary departments just yet, but I will be working on this for the next couple of days. I will send out another email with updates on the status of this trip once we have them. If we are able to pull this trip together in a week (fingers crossed!), those who are interested will have a meeting to discuss more of the logistics and an official itinerary for the trip.
DOODLE POLL: https://doodle.com/poll/n82svspr8bzcvef2?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link
Diana Biesecker ÔÇï| ÔÇïGettysburg College '22
Environmental Studies Major (B.A.)
Anthropology Minor & Art Studio Minor
President: Gettysburg Environmental Concerns Organization (G.E.C.O.)
Student Representative: Climate Change & Sustainability Committee
Gettysburg College is on unceded Indigenous land including the traditional homelands of the Susquehannock/Conestoga, Seneca and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Leni Lenape, and Shawnee Nations, and the connections of Indigenous Peoples to this land continue today.