We met with Ryan Pappal (Duncan ‘17) and Hasan Seede (Jones ‘16), the co-founders of the new student organization Texans for Climate Change Action (TFCCA), to discuss climate change, leadership, student activism, and more.
Where are you from and what are your majors?
Hasan Seede: I’m from San Marino, California, which is a small city in Los Angeles County. I graduated in December majoring in biological sciences and am now doing research at the Texas Medical Center in molecular biology.
Ryan Pappal: I grew up in Haddonfield, New Jersey, before moving to San Antonio, Texas, when I was nine. I am majoring in biochemistry and cell biology and psychology and have a minor in neuroscience.
When and how did you become involved in environmental issues at Rice?
HS: After the Nov. 8 election I felt concerned that the President-Elect and many members of the House of Representatives deny the reality of climate change. Among scientists there is virtually no debate that climate change is occurring and that it is driven by human activity. The warming of the planet is already having devastating downstream consequences, and further failure by our representatives to address this crisis could mean end game for the environment. I felt responsible as a student aware of the costs of climate change to act to ensure that our representatives have a climate change response plan that reflects the urgency of the scientific literature.
The Nov. 8 election motivated me to reach out to the Rice community to organize and channel our collective concerns into action aimed at being impactful. I helped lead a discussion of climate science in the academic quad on Nov. 11. Around 30 students, faculty, and staff came out, and I was encouraged by the outpouring of support from the Rice community. Ryan suggested that we form an organization dedicated to communicating climate science to the public and advocating for sensible policy to address the crisis and so we formed Texans for Climate Change Action (TFCCA).
RP: I was always conscious about the problem of climate change. As a student scientist and future medical student, it concerned me that there were so many American politicians ignoring climate experts. Come the November election, I was moved to act given the incoming administration’s straight denial of climate change and other issues surrounding science, and their propensity to dismiss experts in all fields. We formed TFCCA to specifically address the climate crisis.
Take us through the process of how you redirected your feelings on November 8. To go from not much environmental background to forming an ambitious group focused on climate change action is a huge step!
HS: After the election I was sad and angry. I questioned how we could elect a presidential candidate who campaigned on rhetoric tinged with xenophobia, racism, nativism, and ignorance to be the ultimate representative of our nation’s diverse population. From my coursework in the biosciences program, I was also aware of the devastation of climate change on many species and necessity for immediate policy action to limit impending environmental disaster. We don’t have time to wait for action from policy makers. You don’t have to be studying atmospheric sciences to care about the impact that we are having on our planet and the future of our species. If you take the literature on climate change seriously, then you should feel motivated to act as the window of opportunity to avert catastrophe is closing. If use of heat-trapping gas emissions continues to expand, the Environmental Protection Agency projects that average temperatures in the U.S. will rise as much as 12℉ by 2100 which would threaten the survival of the human species. Republicans seem to be eagerly racing to disaster with their intentions to expand, rather than limit, fossil fuel extraction. So, it doesn’t take a climate scientist to be concerned about our species’ future and realizing the value of the biodiversity that is at risk.
RP: As I mentioned, discontent with our politicians’ dealings with science began well before the election. Especially concerning was the fact that the House Space & Science Committee was chaired by a climate change denier, Lamar Smith from here in Texas, which is absurd. I appreciated having President Obama in office and felt that we were at least making progress through our executive branch and at the global level. However, frustration boiled over to anger when Trump took the presidency and Congress was controlled by the Republican party. As anyone knows, being angry about an issue doesn’t accomplish anything. Turning that anger into responsible and thoughtful activism is what counts, and Rice didn’t have a clear outlet for activism on government action on climate change. Despite not having majored in Environmental Sciences, my background in the biological sciences and my general awareness over the years about this issue gave me the confidence to step up with Hasan to form this group.
What is the mission of TFCCA, and what sorts of activities does the group plan to undertake?
RP: Our broad mission is to take sustainable action to address climate change. Now, that can manifest in a million different forms. As our name suggests, we are focused on efforts here in Texas. Specifically, we want to leverage the talents and abilities of our Rice students, which means we are going to use academics, from the climate science to the humanities to social sciences, to make our case to Houston and to Texas that this issue warrants action today, not tomorrow. What that looks like is writing opinion-editorials, conducting independent research into possible legislative and policy solutions, engaging with officials and representatives, and taking to the streets to protest and demonstrate in reasonable and responsible ways.
How many students are members of TFCCA, and how can interested students become involved?
RP: We currently have about 80 student members, and anyone interested can contact our Internal Secretary Grace Wickerson at mgw4@rice.edu. We have plenty of positions on our committees, with projects ranging from research to meeting officials to planning events and protests.
What have you learned from your experiences with TFCCA so far? Was there anything that surprised you?
RP: What surprised me the most was the overwhelming interest from Rice students. To recruit 80 student members basically on day one was fantastic and heartening. Without having an engaged and passionate membership, there isn’t much we can do. I give all the credit to the students who have joined and helped build the platform for this organization. I can say confidently that our student members, committee coordinators, and group leaders steal the show.
Forming and leading TFCCA has enabled you to interact with Rice faculty and staff in an entirely new way. What has that experience been like for you?
RP: Well, it’s shown that passion and a little effort can go a long way. The faculty we have worked with jumped at the opportunity to engage with us and have just been phenomenal. They care about what our concerns are as students, and being able to sit down with a number of faculty, staff, and stakeholders has opened up a world of interaction I didn’t know was possible. I look forward to continuing to build bridges with our faculty advisors and other faculty and staff groups and departments on campus.
As leaders, what have you found to be the most effective strategies to communicate and motivate to get the results you seek?
HS: I think generally students are concerned with climate change and if they see our organization is doing something meaningful then they will be motivated to get involved. Our goal is to be as impactful as we can be in addressing the issue of climate change at Rice and in Houston.
RP: Every member in our group is unique, and having a management strategy that caters to that is essential. What Hasan and I have done, basically, is opened up our organization to everybody. Whatever it is someone is interested in doing or contributing to, we’ve made sure that it can find a place in our structure. Allowing flexibility and autonomy to our committees and members allows them to lead their own efforts, which I think helps fuel their passions and interests and gives our organization a diverse set of impacts and scopes. In reality, Hasan and I are more coordinators than leaders — our goal is to set our members up for success so we can build an organization that is uncharacteristically cooperative and efficient.
What has been the reaction of your friends and family to your sudden rise as campus environmental leaders?
HS: My roommates are much more critical whenever they see me doing anything to increase my carbon footprint. But, seriously my friends and family have been very supportive. I am constantly inspired by how students and faculty are committed to addressing sustainability and threats to the environment.
RP: I come from a very conservative family — both my parents and my extended family. My family’s history, like so many others’ here in the U.S., is intertwined with the oil industry. So, you could imagine there’s tension there. My responsibility as a student of higher education, a student-scientist, and an independent thinker is to evaluate the issues facing us today from an objective lens and act in a morally responsible way to rectify those issues. I can only hope that everyone close to me, whether it be friends or family, can understand and respect that.
As pre-meds, are both of you planning to go to medical school? If so, what area of medicine do you plan to pursue?
HS: I’ll be applying to medical school for the entering class of 2018. I haven’t yet decided on a specialty.
RP: I will be going to medical school next year. I have a heavy background in pre-hospital emergency medicine as a paramedic, so emergency medicine is an appealing field for me. However, my interests are constantly changing — in just a few months, climate change has rapidly become a major issue for me. So, I’m keeping my mind open.
Given how much time you’ve devoted to launching TFCCA, will it be hard to walk away in May when you graduate? How will you stay engaged with the issue of climate change and the desire you have to do something about it once you leave Rice?
RP: It won’t be hard at all to walk away. We have such talented and passionate young leaders in TFCCA, who I am sure will do exceptionally well when they change over into higher leadership roles when we graduate. In medical school, I am not quite sure how this new issue will work its way into my life. What I can say is that the urgency to act on climate change will only increase, and I foresee I will find ways to integrate my new medical journey with this passion of mine, perhaps by starting a medical student group to advocate for action on climate change, smog, and pollution.
HS: I think that over time we will continue to see the devastating consequences of years of inaction on climate change. I think that I will continue to be involved in a movement to work with representatives to act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work towards sustainability in the way we consume.
Do you have any final words of advice or insights that you would like to share with Rice students, in particular those who have only recently started to become politically engaged?
HS: It took realizing that I had a responsibility to engage with my community and make my voice heard to get to the next step of thinking about ways to get involved. I was tired of getting frustrated alone at the inaction from representatives on climate change in my community at Rice and in Houston. From there it just took thinking creatively as to how to engage my fellow citizens in conversation to get on the same conversational level. I’m still figuring out how to be most impactful, but a good start was holding discussions in public and inviting all my friends to join. That’s what led to the creation of TFCCA, which represents a body of students concerned about the impact of carbon emissions on our planet. Forming TFCCA was crucial because engagement should be sustained over the long term, part of an organized movement, and well connected with the wider community. From what I’ve seen over the last few months is that all it takes to make a difference is the willingness to put yourself out there. If you do that you’ll meet and inspire others.
RP: I became an activist on Nov. 11. Hasan and I founded TFCCA on Nov. 29, just over two weeks later. Hasan and I still joke to each other today about how unbelievable it is that the Rice community came together on this issue and that we helped facilitate that. What’s clear to me now that I certainly didn’t realize coming into Rice is that anybody can make an impact, but not everyone will. If someone has enough conviction, it doesn’t matter how much experience he or she has in a given field. The recipe for getting things done in this world of politics and activism is channeling your passion, finding a fellow student or two who are willing to take a leap with you, and working your tail off until you accomplish your goal. It’ll require flexibility and unwavering commitment, as there were many, many times that I was unsure whether this would work out and whether TFCCA would be sustainable.