University of Washington-Seattle (Sierra Student Coalition (SSC))
President’s Climate Commitment
In March 2007, the President of the University of Washington-Seattle signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) after receiving targeted pressure from a coalition of students at the University of Washington. SSC campus organizer and national leader Christina Billingsley helped to form and lead this coalition of on-campus groups alongside WASHPRIRG leader Tina. The coalition included representatives from the UW SSC, WASHPIRG, SEED (the residence hall environmental group), the Young Democrats, Amnesty International, and others. Christina and Tina formed this coalition together to build the strength of the climate movement on their campus early in the spring semester of 2007. To convince the president to sign the ACUPCC, coalition students ran an intensive two-week campaign that included media work and the collection of more than 300 petitions from students on campus. The University President cited the students’ work as the reason he chose to sign the commitment in March, saying that while he had been considering it, their efforts pushed him to act. Their strategy was to pressure the President while also creating a “hero opportunity” for him and it worked!
