On March 15, among the high-rises of Downtown Los Angeles and many other cities across the world, the youth community gathered together to join in protest for the Youth Climate Strike.

The strike was organized by Co-Executive Directors and founders of the march Isra Hirsi and Haven Coleman. According to their website, “the youth of America are striking because the science says we have just a few years to transform our energy system, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the worst effects of climate change.”

Emma Bersch ’19 said she was inspired to bring the Archer community together to attend the march after scrolling through Instagram and seeing a post advertising it. She immediately sent the post to Aviva Intveld, the president of Archer’s Sustainability Council [ACS].

“I said [to Aviva] this is something we have to do. So we set up a meeting with Ms. Babin the next day,” Bersch said. “We managed to pull it off in two days. ”

According to the Guardian, 1.4 million students across 2,233 cities took part in the strike. The strike was created to demand that the government address the current climate emergency.

“I think the most empowering part for me was that it was all student-led,” Bersch said. “All the speakers were students — it was a way for young people to use their voices. We may not be able to vote, but we can still protest in the streets.”

Maddie Jacobson ’19, who attended the march, enjoyed coming together with Archer girls in the community who have a common interest in ending climate change.

“I had a great time,” Jacobson said. ” I felt a lot of solidarity with the LA teenagers, and it was nice having it mostly be kids out there rather than adults.”