Students rally at State House, demand climate change action
BOSTON - Marching to their own beat, approximately 60 students from around the Commonwealth rallied on the front steps of the State House to demand climate action.
Lena Ciganer-Albeniz and Gauri Kumar are students from Phillips Academy in Andover.
"There is a perceived distance that people have created between themselves and climate change, thinking they could push it to the future generations to deal with, and we really can't at this point," said Kumar. "This opportunity to interact, as a youth with our government, is an insane opportunity that I have to take up."
Ciganer-Albeniz reiterated, "As young people, I feel like often a lot of adults don't realize the impacts we have. Seeing everyone come out here, all these people who decided they were going to skip school to rally bring a lot of optimism."
State Representative Jeffrey Turco echoed that optimism. "Any time people come and petition their government, to have their voices be heard, whether its young or old... that's what our democracy is all about," Turco said.
Massachusetts has a strong track record for climate legislation, something Representative Turco pointed out. His district covers Winthrop and Revere, two areas susceptible to rising seas and beach erosion.
The rallying student looked to legislators to pass bills on air quality, climate education, and transparent bill-making, something Kumar said was much needed.
"Committee votes... something that shows us why our votes are dying, those aren't public. The public is shut out from their out government," she added.