April 1 - Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX)
Location: Palko Auditorium
Time: 7-10
Speaking: Brian Boerner, the Director of Environmental Management for Fort Worth; Michael Slattery, TCU Chairmar for Environmental Studies; and Stephan McGuire, co-Producer of The 11th Hour.

The 11th Hour proved its universal appeal at TCU, one of the more conservative schools in the nation. Hosted by Adduco Viridis: TCU Environmental Club, the screening (held at Palko Auditorium) gathered an audience of more than 250 students and also some faculty and members from the community. With only a very small yet splintered community of environmental activists on campus, the 11th Hour team was stunned to see such a great turnout. When asked what propelled them to come see the film, many students mentioned that they had begun to understand the implications of climate change and were noticing the lack of environmental discourse on campus. It also did not hurt that a number of the students in attendance were taking an introductory environmental course and were being awarded extra credit for attending the event.

Before the screening, Kimberly Banzhaf of Adduco Viridis introduced Stephan McGuire, co-Producer of The 11th Hour.  Stephan spoke briefly, describing the ideas behind the 11th Hour Action campaign and www.11thhouraction.com, Hewlett Packard’s sponsorship of the 11th Hour Campus Tour and the ways in which Hewlett Packard is an environmentally conscious company.

After the screening, student questions were answered by Brian Boerner, Director of Environmental Management for the city of Fort Worth, Michael Slattery, Director of the Institute for Environmental Studies at TCU, and Stephan McGuire. The questions posed by students mirrored their concern about a lack of environmental programs and discussion at TCU. Educators in the audience voiced their unhappiness about the level of young people’s environmental education and called for environmental classes to be added to the core curriculum of primary and secondary schools. Brian Boerner explained the changes that the city of Fort Worth is making in order to become more sustainable, and Michael Slattery elaborated on TCU’s environmental progress.

After the event, students signed up to www.11thhouraction.com and asked the 11th Hour team about ways in which they could take action individually.

At the end of the panel discussion, TCU’s Environmental Club came to a conclusion on how it proposes to take action. It is now actively promoting “fair trade coffee” to all establishments that sell coffee on the TCU campus. Per our student contact Kimberly Banzhaf, the different environmental groups at TCU are also working together more productively in the wake of the 11th Hour screening, and TCU plans to sign on to the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment by next summer.  Independently of the screening, TCU is working on the development of a sustainable student dorm to be opened next summer.

The 11th Hour screening was announced in TCU’s Daily Skiff on April 1, 2008 under the heading “Sustainability main theme of documentary showing on campus.” A copy of the article is attached hereto.

 

11th Hour Action table with HP computers

Stephan McGuire and 11th Hour Action table

Students learning more and signing up for 11th Hour Action.

Students before the screening in Palko Auditorium

Q&A Discussion with Brian Boerner, the Director of Environmental Management for Fort Worth; Michael Slattery, TCU Chairmar for Environmental Studies; and Stephan McGuire, co-Producer of The 11th Hour.

Stephan McGuire with Kim Banzhaf (President of AV: Enviro. Club at TCU) and her sister, Kate.