 "Photo: Michael Baldon/The Daily Texan")
Oxfam-UT partnered with Oxfam Action Corps Austin to put on a flashmob on the West Mall Monday to draw attention to climate change and global warming.
The flashmob consisted of about 25 Oxfam members who gathered to portray human clocks — their ticks intended to reflect lost time in the fight against global warming.
Oxfam International promotes social justice and the eradication of poverty and hunger. The group’s leaders consider climate change initiatives an important part of their work.
“Right now climate change is one of our biggest campaigns because it affects our poorest people the most,” said sociology junior Sarah Magnelia, the Oxfam-UT climate change campaign leader. “Often they don’t have the means to adapt to climate change.”
Monday’s event was one of many planned activist programs leading up to the UN’s climate change conference in Copenhagen in December to write a new climate treaty that will replace the Kyoto Protocol. Oxfam-UT hopes the Obama administration will attend and encourage the U.S. to become active in international climate change efforts.
“We’re urging them to create a climate treaty that is fair, ambitious and binding,” Magnelia said.
Some students and faculty stopped to observe the demonstration, and a few signed up to get more information about Oxfam’s programs.
“I was looking at the table about fighting poverty and hunger, I thought that was something I’d be interested in,” said religious studies freshman Angie Avera. “Then there were a bunch of people, and I didn’t know what was going on. They just started ticking.”
She said her surprise encouraged her to sign the e-mail list. Lauren Deanna, a Latin American studies senior and Oxfam-UT president, said this shows the demonstration was a success.
“I wanted people to notice and come over and ask questions,” Deanna said. “The big thing about doing an action like this is that people see you and are like ‘What are you doing?’ They come over and start asking.”
Austin Oxfam Action Corps organizer Charmagne Coston said even those who don’t consider themselves activists may become interested or at least aware of the work Oxfam is doing if the group puts itself in the public eye.
“I heard some jokes about the demonstration, but it doesn’t really phase me,” Coston said. “It’s volume — it’s how many you speak with — they will end up responding. ”
Oxfam International and Oxfam-UT will host events throughout the semester in preparation for the December UN meeting. Students can learn more at www.oxfamut.tk/.
