Colgate Students Experience
ECOnference 2001

On the Weekend of October 19-21 several Colgate students traveled to George Washington University in Washington, D.C. to learn about environmental issues, gain ideas for activism, meet other campus activists, and gain inspiration from speakers like Lois Gibbs.
Below is one student's impression of the conference.

For more information on ECOnference 2001, go to: http://www.econference2001.org

Look at pictures from the conference!

Watching the streets of Washington DC pass by out the window, my head was full of thoughts and feelings waiting to be exploded out into the real world.  Compared to the last time I rode the metro down to ECOnference2001, I was so enlightened and energized that I could not keep from talking about how great the weekend was. All of us, Jess Howard, Jordan Callori, Sarah Newman, Drew Koff, and myself, were busy talking about different workshops and panels, great speakers we heard, and the amount of information we found at the fair. We couldn’t stop brainstorming ideas for future SEA activities, complaining how little time we have left and how many things we want to accomplish.

Over the weekend, students interested in environmental movements became students with knowledge, passion, and energy.  We understood the importance of our environment in terms of our obligation to seek harmonious coexistence between humans and the environment.  We saw pictures of clear-cut forests, caribou herds covered with oil, and horrible working conditions of South American coffee workers, and realized that our lifestyle has not only fostered environment degradation, but also left us to lose a connection with the land we are living on and the people we share the land with.  ECOnference2001 also allowed me to meet many people, who are so passionate in pursuing their lives in commitment to bring changes among and within people and the society.  It was very inspirational to find out that these people were not exceptionally different from me, but were college students with environmental and social consciousness, people who selflessly dedicated their lives to educate each other. We students do possess power to make our world a better place for all. 

After the conference, I discovered much stronger faith in myself, others, and the world because I began to believe that my small contribution to achieve a so called ‘ideal’ world does in fact bring changes and touch the lives of others.  Facing the indifference while pursuing environmental activism in our community, I try to refresh myself with the moments of ECOnference2001, and get energized once again, because I believe it is my duty to share the enlightenment and passion that I gained from the conference.  I truly thank the Environmental Studies Program for giving us an opportunity to attend such an eye-opening experience, and I hope to attend the conference again next year.