Student Activism When It Feels Impossible
Why I Fight Cornell’s Inaction on Climate Change as a Student
Newsletter #30 published on September 30, 2026
A Cornell junior reflects on why she’s fighting climate inaction at Cornell, recounting recent experiences with AI and Cornell’s “Unplugged” week. Although the scale of the problem can be disheartening, she believes that silence is not an option when our silence condemns the future. She tells us how her activism with Cornell on Fire has included tangible victories, inviting readers: “If you care about our climate, our future, and justice, then I welcome you too to embody your voice.”
Scroll below for upcoming meetings and to get involved.
Dear Cornell on Fire,
Welcome back to campus!
My name is Lani, and I am a junior at Cornell and a member of Cornell on Fire.
This month we experienced Cornell Unplugged, a week-long event organized by the Education & Engagement Committee of the Sustainable Cornell Council and the Cornell Sustainability Office. The event invited students to unplug where possible, enjoy spending time offline and in nature, and re-evaluate our relationship with AI and technology.
As an information science major, I unplugged in-between programming assignments. My professors, however (though I love them)… Some outright recommend chatbots as tutors – no longer hiring undergraduate TAs – and others praise AI in almost every class – only raising issues over CoPilot’s weak relative ability, not any of LLMs’ social or environmental effects, least of all that the AI explosion was founded to and continues to re-invigorate the failing oil and gas industries and consolidate power in the hands of the rich.
Additionally, throughout the whole Unplugged experience were the Cornell career fairs. Upon inspection, I realized that not only was there no real environmental organization tabling, there were climate destroyers like LV Petroleum invited to recruit students in panicked need of a job.
Cornell has transformed unplugging – decreasing our dependence on technology like AI – into a wellness gimmick without truly believing and investing in comprehensive environmental education or a sustainable future full of opportunity for us students.
The juxtaposition of the Cornell Sustainability Office’s well-intentioned messaging and the greater university’s outright lack of care for a green future enrages me. Often, when I reach out to Cornell leadership, I’m told that my environmental concern is not a priority, am offered a non-effective greenwashed solution, or am informed that due to the Resilient Cornell initiative’s hiring restrictions, I have to fix the problem myself.
It’s excruciating. I feel like giving up because it’s just impossible to make change here, but then I’m confronted with another instance of environmental disregard encouraged by the university, and I remember that staying silent in the face of condemnation of the future is not a pill I want to swallow every day for the rest of my life.
Therefore, I joined Cornell on Fire during my Orientation week two years ago, when I first noticed how little the university invested in sustainability, and I continue to raise my voice for the climate and create space for student-led change on campus.
If you care about our climate, our future, and justice, then I welcome you too to embody your voice.
Cornell is truly disconnected, and it is hard for even the well-meaning sustainability staff to make change when the university leadership rushes to cozy up to any instance of power and prestige without considering what is truly best for the students and the living beings Cornell impacts.
Over the past three years since Cornell on Fire was founded, we’ve brought climate back into the conversation. We’ve successfully:
Passed resolutions through Cornell assembly bodies demanding that Cornell decarbonize and declare a climate emergency.
Got Cornell to formally acknowledge that upstream methane emissions are not reported as part of their Baseline Inventory.
Advocated for climate change education in Cornell’s Climate Change Curriculum Working Group.
Published four independent research reports on Cornell and climate as well as a white paper that contributed to public discussions to hold Cornell accountable to Ithaca’s revolutionary fossil fuel phaseout.
Co-sponsored events like the Take Back Our University Rally; the May Day Rally against ICE, war, and billionaires; an Earth Day Town Hall; and a screening of Earth's Greatest Enemy.
Reached hundreds of students, staff, faculty, and community members through class visits, Fridays on Fire and other tabling, social media, our newsletter, a 3-credit Environment & Sustainability major capstone course, and our Faculty Fellows program.
…and we hope to do much more.
In addition to continuing our campaigns from last year, we intend to create space for more student climate discussion and demands to be heard by the university. Therefore, we plan to write a column in a local paper for Cornell on Fire.
If you have thoughts on climate plaguing your mind, tell me, tell the team at Cornell on Fire, and, if you’re comfortable, tell the world.
Send us a letter(s) via this form to report climate and environment problems you’ve seen in your department and on campus, good work you want to see highlighted and supported, and climate thoughts and connections you’ve been thinking about. There’s a checkbox so you can include your name (or stay anonymous) as well as a checkbox giving us permission to potentially use your words in a future letter in the paper (or keep private).
If you want to get even more involved, reach out! We meet every other week on Saturdays from 3:00-4:30pm at St. Luke Lutheran Church right across the street from Collegetown Bagels. Our next meetings are Oct. 3 and Oct. 17. Come when you can, and bring a friend. All are welcome.
Enjoy apple season!
Lani & the team at Cornell on Fire
*Read on for actions, events, and updates! This newsletter was also published via email and social media on Instagram and Mastodon.
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Get involved with Cornell on Fire:
Cornell on Fire Meetings: Biweekly on Saturdays from 3:00 - 4:30pm at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Collegetown (109 Oak Avenue.) Our next two meetings are October 3 and 17th. We also meet hybrid - email us if you’d like the link.
Interested in joining our Working Group? We meet bi-weekly and actively welcome new perspectives! Everyone can contribute to our campus-community coalition: students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members. Fill out our interest form or reach out at connect@cornellonfire.org.
In case you missed it. Catch up on our latest work:
Check out our latest communications:
Read the press coverage of our activities
Follow our latest actions on social media: on Instagram, Mastodon, and YouTube.
Check out our latest actions:
Watch Professor Emeritus Tony Ingraffea, a Cornell on Fire Faculty Fellow, give a stellar virtual talk on Cornell’s decarbonization (in)action. Join him in asking: What happened to Cornell’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2035? Email us for the video link.
If you’d like to watch this virtual talk that took place on September 25, 2026 before the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative, email us and we’ll share the link to the recording.
