Last year, all of our petitioning and rallying outside the Administration Building got us a seat on the Energy Transition Steering Committee. Unfortunately, with only a few people on that committee pushing for the goal of 100% renewable energy, the steering committee’s current energy plan falls far below its potential.

These student groups, unable to compromise with the administration on a healthy future, have undertaken the responsibility of coming up with a new plan, a better plan, one that showcases MSU as the innovative and sustainable university it calls itself. A plan where in the next few decades MSU is no longer burning fossil fuels.

This is not a fairy-tale ending. I am not just dreaming that this someday could be a reality. Many clean energy experts, both locally and nationally, have said this transition is possible, and MSU just needs the leadership to make it happen.

President Simon, the only way good will triumph over evil is if you use your authority and influence to promote a vision of a truly Spartan green university. You can create a university where your students don’t have to breathe in coal pollution every day. A university that will be a leader in the clean energy revolution, an industry which holds so much promise for restoring Michigan’s economy. A university that is a model for all other universities in not only technological innovation but also ethics.

MSU Spartans have stepped up to the challenge, now the only question is: Will the administration follow?

Jordan Lindsay, MSU Greenpeace member and history, philosophy and sociology of science sophomore.