Climate Activist Spotlight: Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny

Climate Activist Spotlight: Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny

Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny, known to many as “Little Miss Flint,” is a 14-year-old activist based in Flint, Michigan. Her activism began at just eight years old, when she first became aware of the undrinkable water in her hometown, in which high levels of lead were detected. Copeny began to gain national attention when she wrote a letter to then-President Barack Obama to convince him to come to Flint and see the water crisis firsthand. This letter prompted Obama’s May 2016 visit to Flint. After his visit, he declared a federal state of emergency for the Michigan town and allocated $100 million in aid to address the issue.

2020 marks record high in environmental activist killings

Content warning: This article discusses murder and mentions sexual violence.

On Sept. 13, human rights organization Global Witness reported that a record 227 climate activists were murdered in 2020.

Climate Activist Spotlight: Greta Thunberg

By Helen Gloege ’23

Staff Writer

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has become a household name around the world. Thunberg is famous within climate activist communities for her organizing work and calls for action against climate change. In 2018, at the age of 15, Thunberg began spending her days outside the Swedish Parliament to call for action on climate change. Initially, she was alone in her protests, until other students began to participate in similar demonstrations within their own communities. This is where her well-known slogan “Skolstrejk för klimatet” (School Strike for Climate) originated. After the December 2018 general elections in Sweden, Thunberg and others moved to striking only on Fridays. This became Fridays for Future, an organized school climate strike movement which has now taken place for almost three and a half years. In addition to inspiring many young activists, Thunberg has also been given many honors and awards, including but not limited to being Time’s Person of the Year and three consecutive nominations for a Nobel Peace Prize between 2019-21.


Over 200 medical journals issue joint statement calling for action on climate change

On Sept. 5, over 230 medical journals from across the world came together to publish a joint statement demanding “urgent action to keep average global temperature increases below 1.5 C, halt the destruction of nature and protect health.” Authors of the statement believed that action had to be taken immediately — it was not possible to wait for the COVID-19 pandemic to fade. The joint statement, which NPR referred to as “unprecedented” in a Sept. 7 article, involved prominent members of medical journals from around the world.

The dark underbelly of the crystal trade

The dark underbelly of the crystal trade

After spending years being dismissed as a mystical, new-age spiritual fad, healing crystals have seeped into the mainstream through a combination of social media aesthetics and the wellness juggernaut. Despite general economic stagnation during the pandemic, the sales of near-gemstones like amethysts and clear quartz skyrocketed in 2020. Since 2015, demand for crystals has more than doubled in the U.S.

Coming back to college: what you need to know about the delta variant


While students settle back into campus life, the delta variant is an increasingly large threat. Currently, the delta variant is the predominant cause of COVID-19 cases rising in the United States. According to an article published online by Yale Medicine, The delta variant is a highly contagious strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It was first identified in India in December 2020. It rapidly spread and dominated the virus cases of India and the United Kingdom before arriving in the U.S. in March.

Dealing with the wasps: advice from a yellow jacket expert

Dealing with the wasps: advice from a yellow jacket expert

No matter how tightly you hold the cover of your take-out container as you walk from the Dining Commons, the wasps, or more precisely, the yellow jackets, always try to sneak in your boxes. Many students are concerned for their safety when eating outside, and also curious about whether it is possible to remove the yellow jackets. The potential of being stung and having an allergic reaction is also an issue.

‘Last Ice Area’ begins melting earlier than predicted

‘Last Ice Area’ begins melting earlier than predicted

The image of melting Arctic ice has long been used to represent the future consequences of climate change. Despite this reputation, one region of the Arctic left scientists shocked when it began to show signs of melting. Scientists aboard an icebreaker in August 2020 were shocked when their satellites identified a route through a large glacier in the Wandel Sea.

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