by John Zangas

Several hundred students met at the Thurgood Marshall Center in Washington, DC for teaching, training and preparation for a massive rally against the Keystone XL pipeline to be held Sunday, March 2. The students traveled from 42 states and over 80 campuses–some as far away as California and Maine–because of concerns they have about the proposed oil pipeline’s environmental impact.

As part of a protest called XL Dissent, students plan to rally at Georgetown University, then march to the White House. The intent is to convey their adamant opposition to President Obama, who has the power to greenlight the cross-border pipeline. They believe that the Keystone XL will have detrimental environmental effects, and the emissions from dirty tar sands fuel could lead to irreversible climate change.

Abby Lutmer, a student organizer with Fossil Free Divestment Campaign, came to Washington, DC with fifteen fellow students from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. “The KXL could drastically change the quality of land and water,” she said. “I think it’s a beautiful thing how many people are concerned about this, and it should show Obama and the administration that we are not backing down and will do whatever it takes to stop the KXL.”

Broader strategies to protect the environment were discussed at Saturday afternoon meetings, including divestment campaigns.

Mary Schellentrager, a campaign coordinator with Energy Action Coalition, encouraged other students to lobby their university administrations to divest from fossil fuel companies. “Universities control $400 billion in capital in the US alone,” she said. While she believes that divestment is “not enough,” she says the aim is “to remove the social and political will of the industry to operate.”

“Our Universities are the moral compasses of our society educating the youth of tomorrow,” she said. “We believe they should not be educating and graduating them into a planet that is unlivable for their future.”

Large numbers of the protesting students may provoke arrest at the White House on Sunday as part of a coordinated civil disobedience action. As closed-door meetings began for civil disobedience training, students continued to pour into town in anticipation of the next day’s events. More than a hundred students reportedly overflowed into the hallway, unable to fit into the meeting room.

By Saturday evening, U.S. Park Police already had barricades at the ready in anticipation of the protest, and they discouraged people from standing on the sidewalk in front of the White House.

“It’s incredible to have 1,000 people willing to risk arrest,” said Dr. Harvard Ayers, who accompanied his students from Appalachian State University. He hopes they will be able to make a difference, since climate change will affect their generation more than his. “I think the students of today are picking up the baton,” he said. “We so badly need them.”

The Overpass Light Brigade put on a display Saturday night:

More photos from XL Dissent students during planning sessions at the Thurgood Marshall Building: