The Environmental Studies Club held its first meeting last night after a hiatus of several years. Club members hope to build excitement for the reinstated club, which aims to extend conversation about environmental issues outside the classroom.
Co-president and CAS sophomore Katie Andrew restarted the club when she saw there was no place on campus for students to discuss important environmental issues freely. Andrew sees the club as an opportunity to create a forum and facilitate discussion within the NYU community.
The club also hopes to engage material they learn in the classroom by delving deeper into problems at club meetings.
“Currently students do not have discussion outside of class,” Andrew said. “We just basically have class time, and there is no community where students can hear more opinions about the topics. Introductory classes are 80 people with really interesting topics … so [there] is little time to get [in] depth,” said Andrew.
Co-president and CAS freshman Brynn O’Donnell said the club provides students with the opportunity to express their opinions without pressure and focuses more on academic discussion.
“Our mission is more focused on the academic side of environmental issues, while most of the clubs focus on the policy and [projects],” O’Donnell said.
In its first meeting members outlined the structure of future meetings and reviewed each member’s goals for the semester.
The club also discussed plans for Easter and Earth Day, methods for funding the club’s future events and plans to host panels featuring science professors and other experts.
Another highlight of the night was the discussion about the environmental effects of hydrofracking, a technique used to extract natural gas by drilling into the ground that could release methane and other chemicals into the water.
Andrew spoke about the possible effects of fracking on New York City, especially after the construction of the Spectra Energy Corps. pipeline which will run underneath the Hudson River.
CAS junior and environmental studies major Jen Cogen said the club is a place where members can unite over their passion for environmental issues.
“It’s great that they’re restarting the club,” Cogen said. “I’m excited that there is a place I can go now within NYU to get more involved in environmental studies outside of my class.”
Su Sie Park is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].
