By LARRY FARES
Contributing Writer
On Nov. 15, Frack University, a presentation through the Energy Justice Network, was held in the Schultz Banquet Hall. The event, sponsored by Students for Environmental Awareness, discussed many aspects of the fracking process, from the legal processes to the drilling itself.
Frack University was invited in response to concerns about potential fracking on Allegheny’s 280-acre Bousson Experimental Forest, a prospect which is still in its early stages of discussion.
Nathan Malachowski, ’14, vice president of SEA, said it was a simple process to get Frack University to come to campus.
“We were put in contact with Alex Letort, the speaker, and from there we got the funds to bring them down and ASG approved it, and then just did some advertisement,” Malachowski said.
Along with the presentation, the SEA recently constructed a large octopus structure outside of the Campus Center made entirely out of tires from multiple car repair services in downtown Meadville. The structure was built to protest the proposed tires-to-energy plant.
“The octopus shape goes along with the protest against John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company. There are a lot of political cartoons from the era of an octopus going around sucking up all the oil, so this theme goes along with the concept of big industry taking over small communities,” Lee Swaydis., ’14, who is in charge of building the structure.
