Show Me What Democracy Looks Like: Over 1,000 New York Students Lobby for Climate and Social Justice in the State Capitol
- 18 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Alyssa Beaumont
Student-directed climate advocacy group TREEage assembled over 1,000 students from across the state and over 20 partner organizations to lobby lawmakers in Albany. The coalition marched through the Capitol building and met with state leaders on March 17 to demand the passage and protection of a series of sustainability and social justice legislations.
TREEage played a key role in the fight to pass the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), New York’s landmark climate law, which seeks an 85% reduction in state carbon emissions by 2050. The act has been severely stalled by Governor Kathy Hochul, even leading to a lawsuit in 2025.
Climate activists remain committed to continue that fight while also pursuing immigrant protections, wealth taxes, and more sustainable, well-maintained schools.
The event began with students rallying in the Capitol’s Million Dollar Staircase. Collective chants of “No hate, No fear, ICE is not welcome here” and “Tax the rich” — which at one point shifted to “Eat the rich” — reverberated through the halls of the building.
Students held a variety of signs, provided by TREEage, that read “OUR NEW YORK, OUR FUTURE, OUR FIGHT,” “HOCHUL: CHOOSE PEOPLE NOT POLLUTERS,” “ICE OUT OF NEW YORK,” and “NO KIDS IN CUFFS.”
The reference to Hochul condemns her justification for delaying key mandates under the CLCPA, arguing that it risks raising consumer utility rates. TREEage’s official lobbying packet says, “her estimates are based on a hypothetical, extreme scenario … We are calling for legislators to fight back against this misinformation and protect the CLCPA.”
Assemblywoman Dr. Anna R. Kelles stood in the midst of the crowd, alongside other assemblywomen, and proclaimed, “Every single time we have passed laws to implement the climate law, [Hochul] has stopped them from progressing forward.”
Shortly after, another mass chant began, “Are you with the millionaires or are you with us?”
After the rally, students lobbied directly with lawmakers who represent their communities during several sit-down meetings. They sought support for the expansion of the Sustainable Future Fund from $1 billion to $3 billion. TREEage called for CUNY and SUNY schools to receive $250 million for campus retrofits and $100 million to fund the Clean Green Schools program, which provides schools with solar panels, electric buses, and rooftop gardens.
Passing laws and implementing tax codes may not be interests typically associated with the youth, but as the students made their way through the halls of the Capitol, they made it clear that they refuse to be disregarded when these decisions are made.
The New York Public Interest Research Group, a statewide student-led nonprofit political organization with its own chapter at CCNY, held a similar event in Albany; its “Defend Our Climate Law Emergency Rally” on Wednesday, March 25, meant to compel state lawmakers to defend and implement the CLCPA.
As a reminder to themselves and their lawmakers, students shouted in a call-and-response throughout the TREEage rally, “Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!”
Alyssa Beaumont is a freshman at The City College of New York, majoring in Communications with a concentration in Journalism. She joined The Paper to hone her writing skills and gain experience in the world of journalism. She is a novice movie buff who loves expressing herself creatively.
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