GMC students gather in Montpelier for the Vermont Yankee verdict
By Todd Martin.
On Wednesday, February 24th, fourteen Green Mountain students, including myself, travelled through a massive blizzard to be present for a vote in the Vermont State Senate on the Vermont Yankee relicenscing issue. The nuclear power plant hopes to operate for another twenty years, however the Senate voted 26-4 against relicencing the plant
After convening at Ames Circle at 7:00am,, three people volunteered to drive their cars through the storm after we learned that we could not take the GMC van. at 7:40, we left Ames circle for the state capitol.
All three vehicles and all fourteen students arrived safely at the steps of the State House despite getting separated on our two and a half hour drive to Montpelier. Trekking through slush, ice, and sometimes knee-high snow, the group made their way to the steps of the state house. We walked past the huge granite columns, through the towering doors, into the marble floored,golden roofedState House.
Once inside this magnificent building, everything was a blur. The halls were full of hustle-and-bustle. There were people of all ages wandering around, some signing in supporters and others giving out stickers that read “Retire Vermont Yankee as Planned.” There were children running around giving the Senators special messages written by the people of Vermont, while others snapped shots of the event. Every room we walked into there were people, voices, and video cameras. Nobody sat still the entire day.
While the senators convened in the senate chamber, there were two rooms with live footage of the debate being screened through-out the day. Throughout the day, we were phone banking with VPIRG (Vermont Public Interest Research Group) asking vermont residents to call the State house and leave a personal message for their senator to vote no against relicencing. Phone banking is a process where a group of people get together and call everyone on a phone list to get a message out. Our message was “Call your senator today and tell them, ‘Vote Now, and Vote No!’”
After a long day of activism for us, and a long day of debate for the senators, the vote on whether or not to permit Vermont Yankee to operate for another twenty years finally took place around 3:00pm. The final Senate vote was 26 No’s to 4 Yes’s! The crowd in the screening room went wild! For at least four minutes straight there was cheering, clapping, and dancing. There was enough energy in the room to power Vermont! The people had been waiting years for this day, and their voices were heard.
