UT's student environmental organization Students Promoting Environmental Action in Knoxville joined a nationwide campaign for positive environmental change in Nashville on Tuesday in a nationwide effort to get 1 million student signatures. They hope to show presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain that America's youth demands a change to our country's current energy policies.

Sam Jordan, president of SPEAK, has been involved with the program for three years now. When asked what aspect of the program has changed the most since he came to UT, he said, "We’ve gone from talking issues to finding solutions."

His response embodied the notion that students are taking action on campus to promote a positive change in American society, and it is this attitude that is trickling down to all of SPEAK. That's why the group mobilized to Nashville, the site of the second of three presidential debates, for a day of activism sponsored by a nationwide campaign for change entitled Power Vote.

Power Vote is an initiative introduced by the Energy Action Coalition, a group of 48 different environmental organizations that lobby together to promote change. The coalition is an aggressive network that strives to promote environmental change by rallying students and youth to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill when it comes to changing the energy policies of our country.

Brianna Cayo-Cotter, a representative from the Energy Action Coalition, has been traveling the country and making stops at student rallies and political events to promote the Power Vote campaign and get people involved.

"It’s very clear to me that green energy solutions and green jobs are serious, bi-partisan issues that are important to all young people in this generation," she said.

"It's very clear to me that green energy solutions and green jobs are serious, bi-partisan issues that are important to all young people in this generation." -Brianna Cayo-CotterCayo-Cotter said the response to Power Vote has been phenomenal thus far, with 50,000 having signed the pledge and several thousand having offered to volunteer in any way they can.

EAC has made its presence felt at every debate, presidential and vice-presidential, during the election season. Organizing their own rallies for alternative energy sources and creation of green jobs, EAC has been a formidable voice that is getting perpetually louder with each passing day.

"It was really cool to see the Power Vote numbers come in from all over the country," Cayo-Cotter said. "In part because campuses and student organizations themselves are searching out this movement and getting involved on their own. The campaign’s trademark is the make-shift wind turbines and inflatable coal plant that the group puts up as a visual aid about where they think the future can go, and where the status quo of power production has gotten us."

With SPEAK's help, UT is the second largest collector of Power Vote pledges in the country and is behind only The University of New Hampshire.

"UT is a leader in the state for student environmental works," he said.

The SPEAK crowd was very enthusiastic at the student rally, which was held in Nashville's Fannie Mae Dees Park. UT students composed roughly one-third of the total number of students present, which was between 70 and 80.

Students also attended a round table about green energy solutions in Legislative Plaza, the state government headquarters. Students sat down with politicians and scientists to discuss their concerns of the United States’ future green energy plans.

After the round table, SPEAK students rode to the park rally in style by organizing a mass bike ride through the city. Students from UT, Vanderbilt University, Belmont University, and various other schools then donned their uniforms: A green hard-hat and Power Vote T-shirt.

The trademark green helmets made the students stand out in a crowd of several thousand at the Belmont campus.

On the bus ride home, Jordan was visibly moved by the response that he got from new SPEAK members. Jordan said he feels confident that SPEAK will continue to grow and thrive after he graduates next spring, because the group's stance is that every single member has a voice that can and should be heard. SPEAK has no officers or titles and instead promotes equality and individual ownership within the group.

"I see student activism as a key part of keeping things in balance," Jordan said.

SPEAK recruits on a grassroots level by passively advertising their weekly meetings, which are Mondays in University Center Room 225 at 8 p.m. Word gets out, though, and freshman Konrad Hughes is glad he went to a SPEAK meeting on a hunch.

"There were interesting people who seemed to have high thinking ideas," Hughes said. He said he hasn’t gotten involved to deeply but goes to the weekly meetings and has enjoyed his experience thus far.

It is leaders like Jordan and new recruits like Hughes that puts all the pieces in place to make SPEAK the thriving organization that it is. And as the environmental movement keeps gaining steam, leaders like Jordan hope students will become more and more active in taking personal responsibility for the serious ecological issues that are and will continue to face the upcoming generation of young adults.