More than 70 people, including six UF students, stood and shouted in the University of Central Florida Arena Saturday morning, but not because there weren't any chairs.
The crowd had erupted into a feverish chant, a mantra that would come to summarize a message that rang throughout a day filled with talk of advocacy, awareness, action and change.
"I said oooooh, it's hot in here. There's too much carbon in the atmosphere!"
With boundless enthusiasm, students from all over Florida declared their purpose.
The Florida Power Shift Summit welcomed students to Orlando so they could join each other in support of a national movement toward clean energy.
Students from Gators for a Sustainable Campus traveled to Orlando for the event, which was organized by many student leaders across the state, the National Wildlife Federation, the Southern Energy Network and Energy Action Coalition.
At the campus roll call Saturday morning, Chris Cano, an English senior and Gators for a Sustainable Campus publicity coordinator, represented UF, telling the crowd UF has made significant strides in the effort to go green.
"We're running our buses on biodiesel," he said. "We're turning our food waste into energy."
The day was filled with nods to the achievements of the 16 public, private and community colleges that were represented.
Bleu Waters, a Florida International University student, had a big assessment for the struggle students face in trying to push for constituents and the state government to confront climate change and renewable energy.
"This is our generation's civil rights movement," she said.
The students supported a bill, which will be re-introduced in the state legislature this spring, that would allow students the right to vote for a renewable energy fee at state universities.
The "green fee" has seen institutional support from five campuses. Florida Atlantic University gauged interest through a Student Government election, while the remaining four, University of South Florida, UCF, New College of Florida and UF have all had referendums pass in SG elections.
UF leads the charge with support from both President Bernie Machen and the Board of Trustees, Cano said.
The proposal met opposition in the legislature during the last session and failed to make it out of committee, but students are determined to make sure it gets through next year.
Cano felt the bill was misunderstood as a mandate when it simply calls for universities to have an option.
"It would just allow students to pass it, not force them to do it," he said.
In UF's case, the proposed increase is 50 cents per credit hour, which, according the Florida Green Fee Web site, would raise more than $600,000 a year for renewable energy initiatives.
While some students discussed their strategies to win support for this measure, other groups focused on smaller ways for students to contribute to the clean energy movement, like bicycling and recycling on campuses.
The promotion of all initiatives was a point of emphasis for keynote speaker Scott Minos. As senior policy and communication analyst for the U.S. Department of Energy, he charged students to be active on their respective campuses.
"How many of you think that your children will know the same Florida you know?" he asked, with no response.
He also said he expected more students to be there supporting the cause.
Cano later commented on the turnout.
"It's not the numbers that matter," he said. "It's the passion. We've got the energy of a thousand people."
