Trees celebrate the Earth
Piper Fleming ’26, a computer science major at Stanford, doesn’t have much in the way of time to celebrate Earth Day this year, but in her small pockets of availability, she’s hoping that she — and her classmates — will appreciate the earth with their actions.
Fleming said that — if time allows — she hopes to “go for a walk and appreciate nature” to celebrate Earth Day. She encouraged her fellow students to try going meatless at the dining halls for the day, as meat production is linked to extensive carbon emissions.
“The tofu isn’t all that bad,” she wrote.
Monday, April 22, marks the 54th annual Earth Day. Throughout the whole month of April, Stanford is offering ‘Earth Month’ events such as film screenings, festivals and a service day this upcoming Wednesday.
Amanda Campos ’26, a climate justice activist on campus, celebrated Earth Day by taking action through Reclaim Earth Day, a nationally coordinated effort calling on universities to divest from fossil fuel companies and invest in environmental justice initiatives.
“This means cutting ties with Big Oil funders and building respectful relationships with surrounding communities, decarbonizing campus operations and becoming leaders in research on climate solutions,” she wrote.
Campos is an organizer with the Coalition for the True School of Sustainability. Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability, which opened in 2022, has faced student calls for divestment from fossil fuels. Fossil fuel companies have contributed over 68 million dollars to sponsored research projects housed in the Doerr School, according to mandated funding disclosures.
“[The Doerr School] recognizes this is an impassioned topic for members in our community and the university and [the Doerr School is] approaching this matter with the seriousness and rigor it deserves,” wrote Mara Vandlik, Doerr School spokesperson, in response to divestment criticisms raised in a separate Daily article last week.
Campos also emphasized the intersectionality of Earth Day and environmental justice, expanding its definition to include social, food and land justice.
For Mercy Haub ’27, Earth Day plans focus on the latter.
She plans to “donate extra to the Muwekma Ohlone tribe,” the tribe native to the Stanford area, and “to the Coast Salish tribe,” the tribe native to her hometown in Washington. As a personal celebration, she’s “going on a big walk with her friends through the different green and natural areas throughout campus.”
Alexander Worley ’25 said that he’s not actively celebrating the holiday, despite believing that environmentalism is “an important cause.”
“Making people aware of how they can be more environmentally conscious is nice,” he wrote, “but it doesn’t address the main roadblock of politicians being influenced by corporations.”
The post Trees celebrate the Earth appeared first on The Stanford Daily.