For our action project, my two groupmates and I organized a yoga and dance party at the University of Washington. The idea was to teach people about the Anthropocene in a creative way that wouldn’t be overwhelming and paralyzing for participants. We would bring a yoga instructor to help us incorporate the body as well as contemplative practices for an hour, then the second hour we would have a dance party, with tables where people could learn about Anthropocene issues.
The poster for our event, designed by Grace Levy
We had about one month to find an affordable venue, a yoga instructor, companies that could provide snacks, and a way to get the word out to potential attendees. After viewing the documentary, How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change, my group was encouraged by the potential of solar power in the Anthropocene, so we decided to make the sun a theme of our event, which we called “Solar Powered.” In order to see the sunrise, we scheduled the event to start at 7:30 on a Saturday morning, a mistake. In the end, only three people came to the event, which was disappointing. This was also due to difficulties we encountered advertising for the event – university rules restricted us from advertising off-campus, and we didn’t have enough time to get permission to put posters on campus, so we could only advertise online.
Despite poor attendance, our project was not a complete failure; I learned a lot from it. While I saw that it is difficult to organize an event, I was also encouraged by the ability of three college students working together to hold an event which could have helped educate dozens of people about real-world issues. I discovered that I can help make a difference around the issues we have faced in this class.
In the past few years, American politics have been disheartening and alienating for me, so I have become decreasingly interested in participating in our system. It seems useless to do so when money rules everything. However, this kind of organizing and educating at the community level is still effective, and I think it will be important in the Anthropocene, especially if the larger political systems fail to address issues such as climate change. My generation and I need to participate as global citizens and strive to make a positive impact as we face this new epoch.