Over 75,000 participants lined up for the 2023 March to End Fossil Fuels as a kickoff to NYC Climate Week. Many Fordham students attended the march.
Members of Fordham’s Students for Environmental Awareness and Justice (SEAJ) attended the March to End Fossil Fuels on Sept. 17.
Starting at 56th and Broadway and ending at 51st and 1st Ave with a closing rally, members of SEAJ described the atmosphere as “excited,” “persistent” and “inspiring.” The unifying message — demanding politicians divest from fossil fuel usage.
Rosella Cecil, FCRH ’25, attended the march as a member of SEAJ. “Everybody who was there was there for all of the right reasons. Everyone wanted to make a change,” said Cecil.
Cecil explained that the march’s relevance circles back to stopping preventable damage to the planet. “Fossil fuels are not sustainable in any way. We need to end our reliance on them, and we need to stop funding these big oil companies that are hurting all of us and the planet,” Cecil said.
Sejal Getchell, FCRH ’25, attended the march with similar motivations. Getchell described a highlight of the event to be the solidarity she felt with other New Yorkers. Getchell said: “It was just so wonderful to see the amount of people that came out. I think that solidarity is a huge part of it, of showing that this is an issue that matters to the people in this country and obviously all over, but especially in New York City.”
The timeline of NYC Climate week was orchestrated in line with the UN General assembly, also taking place in Manhattan. Cecil described the relevance between the two events – “Every year climate week in New York coincides with the UN General assembly. When all the important change makers and movers are in New York, we gather and we let them know that climate change is real and we care about it — and they should too.”
Fordham SEAJ Co-President, Stizzy Demacopoulos, FCRH ’24, said they felt that the March to End Fossil Fuels has important and crucial ties to social justice. They explained that “Climate change is a class issue, and marginalized individuals who are the least responsible for the climate crisis are facing its most severe consequences.”
Research has shown that communities of color are more likely to face toxic levels of air pollution. In New York City specifically, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) found that in “the South Bronx, Mott Haven neighborhood, 97% Latinx and Black residents are collectively exposed to about 60% more pollution than is caused by their own consumption.”
The Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, roughly a 20-minute drive from Fordham’s Rose Hill Campus, has some of the worst recorded air quality in the United States. The neighborhood has been dubbed “Asthma Alley” to describe the physiological harm air pollution, caused by burning fossil fuels, can inevitably cause.
This past June, the city faced orange skies as a result of wildfires in British Columbia, Canada. Air quality in New York City was deemed to be the worst in the world. Air quality advisories were in effect for the entire state.
In a press conference, Governor Kathy Hochul stated that she “would certainly say we did not deal with this in the past” and that “If you want to know the effects of climate change, you’re going to feel it tomorrow in real time.”
Members of SEAJ also expressed their goal of holding politicians accountable during the March. Specifically, they encouraged the Biden Administration to declare a climate emergency. The goal was to allow for more immediate and drastic steps taken to cut emissions caused by fossil fuels.
“We march hoping to pressure Biden into ending fossil fuels for the U.S.,” said Demacopoulos.
SEAJ member Getchall shared sentiments of dissatisfaction with the Biden administration and their current approach to the climate crisis.
“I do wish that the Biden administration was doing more. And I think that younger generations are certainly calling this to light and acknowledging the fact that we’re going to be the ones that have to deal with this issue more than older generations,” Getchell said.
