Cooper Union Students Demand Classes Focusing On Climate Change

EAST VILLAGE, NY — A group of Cooper Union students is demanding that the university integrate climate change into its coursework in order to prepare artists, architects and engineers for careers tackling climate change.

More than 20 students rallied in the rain at Peter Cooper Triangle at Third Avenue and Seventh Street Friday morning at a recently formed student group's first climate strike.

The group, currently called the Cooper Union Sustainability Project, has three demands: reform the curriculum to focus more on climate change, achieve a carbon-neutral and zero-waste campus, and engage in climate activism as an institution.

“We’re envisioning a curriculum that’s more integrated between our three majors and has more interdisciplinary opportunities to explore what the roles of artists, architects, and engineers are in the world and in tackling climate change,” said a second year mechanical engineering student Hannah Quirk.

“A lot of mechanical engineering is about fuel efficiency and making machines more efficient,” Quirk said. “But I think right now we're at a point where just making our current machines more efficient isn't enough, so we need to begin learning how to create new machines that will be suited for these goals that we have set to keep the world under 2 degrees [Celsius] of warming.”

The group of students has proposed a mandatory class on climate change for first-year students. The course would include topics covering climate science, historical trends of climate change, and social impacts. They also want interdisciplinary climate coursework to connect all three majors at the college.

Students say the university — known for its small size of under 1,000 students with just three majors in art, architecture and engineering that is expected to return to being tuition-free in the next decade — is uniquely positioned to integrate climate change and climate action into its curriculum.

“I think Cooper is small and nimble — of all the places in the world, we should be the ones that are actually capable of this,” said Toby Cumberbatch, a recently retired Cooper Union electrical engineering professor that students say inspired the formation of their climate group.

A spokeswoman for Cooper Union, Kim Newman, said the university has some opportunities addressing climate change and wants to add more.

"We agree with our students that the issues they are raising are significant ones," said Newman. "We have classes and other immersive study and learning opportunities to support advancement in this area and are eager to do more."

Newman said existing courses related to climate change include a chemical engineering course on waste minimization and increasing energy efficiency, civil engineering courses on transportation and environmental systems and architectural studios on sustainable design, and a weekly seminar that has focused on environmental issues. Various fellowships and grants allow students to research climate change related topics.

Students also demanded Cooper Union make its campus carbon-neutral and zero-waste.

“That’s a goal we have in mind,” said Matthew Grattan, a fourth year engineering student. “It could be difficult to achieve that goal realistically, but it’s something we can definitely work towards.”

The students' climate strike builds on a growing global movement of climate action protests. More than 60 people were arrested near City Hall at a protest demanding climate action earlier this month. A day later, more than 300 activists demanded Gov. Andrew Cuomo block a natural gas pipeline that they fear could threaten New York City's waters.

The New York City Council recently passed a bill to reduce skyscrapers' emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a separate $14 billion plan to require additional environmental standards on all-glass buildings (though no formal bill has been introduced in City Council yet).

Grattan added that Cooper Union has slowly been recognizing environmental issues more than in previous years, but the students hoped the climate strike would build off that momentum. Thursday night, the group slid a list of their demands under faculty members’ office doors, students said.

“Hopefully they came to their offices [Friday] morning and saw it and didn’t throw it in the trash immediately,” he said.