Raindrops keep falling on my head, but that doesn’t mean that I am dead.

Here’s the scene: The steady fall of rain is hitting the ground, collecting into 2 inch deep puddles, pattering softly against the tent walls. Your eyes remain closed and you can’t be certain if you slept for 5 hours or for 5 minutes. You’re nestled tightly between two friends who you’ve known for maybe a month, a day, or a week. And you have the vague sense that although you feel dry and warm, you’re most definitely not.

Where are you? A weekend hiking trip in the mountains? A spontaneous roadtrip to the closest body of water? Or the Cambridge Common, a mere stone’s throw from the very spot where George Washington first assembled the American revolutionary troops?

Where I come from (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), the idea of sleeping outside in a place where the sound of roaring trucks can be heard never would have crossed my mind. But “normal” is the last word I would use to describe The Leadership Campaign, the people involved in it, and the experiences I have had thus far with this amazing group of people. The pure passion, dedication, and energy that I feel from all those involved is enough to sustain me through the hard truths that are thrown in my face every day.

For example: This record-breaking rainstorm is a nuisance on my morning commute and it may or may not be pouring into the front window of my basement apartment, but I’m still here to tell you the tale. For the people of Peru, the heavy rains they are experiencing right now are not only completely disrupting their livelihoods for years to come, but the rain is even ending some lives early. Although there have been headaches and thousands of dollars worth of damage done to homes in New England over the past couple of weeks, we still have the resources to deal with the rain.

But how long will we have to continue to witness our climate morphing before our eyes? And how long will the escalation of 100 year storms continue until our government decides to actually do something about what’s causing the increase in intense weather patterns?

I don’t care to wait around for that question to be answered. I would rather help answer it myself, by supporting The Leadership Campaign, and standing up for what I know is right: advocating for a clean energy future.

Stay dry,
Jessica Feldish
Northeastern University Campus Legislative Coordinator

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What do we want?

350!

Whether you are fasting for clean electricity on Thanksgiving or enjoying the holiday at home with family and friends, we at Northeastern wish everyone in the campaign a Happy Holiday. Enjoy the days off of school and/or work!

—
Christian Shannon
Campus Media Coordinator, Northeastern

 

How I got involved..

This is more of a personal blog tonight…

There’s no question each of us here in the LC have a personal reason for doing what we do (I mean, who the hell in the right mind would sleep outside in near-freezing weather when they’re paying for a room that’s heated?). We all love the environment, most of us are politically conscious, and we all have developed friendships (I’ve even made some BU friends… don’t tell anyone from the NU hockey team!) throughout the course of this campaign. This is my story..

I grew up in New Hampshire. Middle-of-friggin-nowhere in fact. According to wikipedia, my town’s population was just under 7000 in the 2000 U.S. census. I graduated with some 100 odd students, many of whom I could tell their life story, where their parents worked, how long they’d lived in the home they’re in, where they’re going to school now, etc. So what DOES a kid from Middle-of-friggin-nowhere do growing up? You play outside.

In the summer, there’s the lake. You go to the beach and swim out to “the raft” or play pickle. You go out on the boat. You enjoy the few actual hot days above latitude 42 degrees. In the fall, wow. Fall is the worst time to be in Boston in my opinion. Nothing – NOTHING – compares to real New England foliage. The drive home during this time of year is amazing. I have friends from all over the nation that marvel at the “colors” here in Boston, but nothing can compare to home and it’s one of the things I truly, truly miss. Of course there’s also real apple cider, corn mazes, and the fun of playing in the leaves too. Winter time is cold up north, but we have snow – lots of snow. Lots of snow makes great for skiing, snowball fights, and interesting drives to school in the morning. Spring time, everything wakes up (albeit a bit later than here in Boston and the rest of the country… we up North have to go through “mud season” first!). I love the smell of my dad’s garden in springtime when everything is sprouting out the ground.

This is why I’m passionate about this cause. My life may have been pretty uneventful leading up to college in the city, but I love home. Right now, with Thanksgiving break so close, all I can think about is going home and seeing the tail-end of the fall foliage, breathing fresh mountain air, and enjoying some of that hot, fresh apple cider. I want to protect this sanctuary with everything I have. I want to be able to bring my children to Middle-of-friggin-nowhere and show them what real nature, real beauty is. I want them to be able to enjoy what I’ve had the privilege of enjoying.

I may be a business major, but I have the heart of an environmental studies one (maybe that’s why I’m going to take an extra semester here at NU to add an enviro minor!). I know that this campaign with these numbers… 350… 100%… 10 years… is one of the most important things I can do as an individual. I ask everyone to think about why they’re involved in this campaign and to look at how they’ve personally contributed to our force.

WAKE UP and SLEEP OUT! Now is the time to act.

—
Christian Shannon
Campus Media Coordinator, Northeastern

 

Pink and yellow makes red, right?

Hey there LC and readers!!

Hope everyone’s campus sleepouts are going well! We’re having “stuffed animal” night here tonight at Northeastern. Is anyone waking up to watch the meteor shower? I bet it’s going to look great out in Western Mass.

We FINALLY painted the banner we’ve been procrastinating about for like a week. Other than the fact that Northeastern students (cough, Jaime, cough) don’t know their color wheel, and that we can’t write “electricity”, it came out really great! Check out a picture below! Hopefully we’ll be rewriting “electricity” over the yellow… highlight… tomorrow, haha.

Everyone get excited for our meeting with the Governor tomorrow (today now I guess)!! Northeastern has some great tactic ideas to help with our presence that hopefully will get a lot of those folks who want to help but are unable to make it to sleepouts more involved. More information soon!

Also, please please please if you’re from a school in the Boston area try to make it to the commons to support our permanent presence! Even if you can’t sleep out, come during the day! And DEFINITELY try to make it to the “Get to Work” rally Thursday at noon!

—
Christian Shannon
Campus Media Coordinator, Northeastern

 

Northeastern Reppin At the Commons

So maybe we didn’t get the most here tonight and Bill’s not sleeping in our tent, but Northeastern’s stepped its game up this week here at the sleepout. I hope everyone enjoyed the march/rally/Bill McKibben (omg I touched him! never washing my hands again), and you’re all ready for some intense lobbying in the morning!

This is the most important week of our campaign thus far, so everyone come with your game faces on! What do we want? Three-fifty! When do we want it? NOW!!!

Also, everyone should create an account at Grist and comment on this article about last week’s sleepout with Dr. Hansen:

 

“Well… it’s time to hit the…. tarp?”

Hello LC and readers!

The ten northeastern students here tonight are warning the other schools to be prepared to bring the heat Sunday because we’re definitely getting Bill to sleep in our tent! We’re working on our recruiting efforts to get as many new faces out to the march and the commons, so you better be getting ready!!

Last night we had about 15 students camping out for GAME NIGHT!! We definitely ended up playing taboo for over an hour, and you are jealous.

—
Christian J. Shannon
Campus Media Coordinator, Northeastern University

 

Super pumped about life.

Hey friends.

Exciting updates from Craig, and fun galore!