This weekend, students from Bowdoin Climate Action and the Bowdoin Democrats will take a bus to Washington, D.C. to be arrested in protest of the building of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Matt Goodrich ’15 has been one of the primary organizers of the protest and has been working with 350.org activists since January on the event.

 “We’re trying to pressure Obama to keep his promises,” said Goodrich. “We want him to know that we want a climate champion and not a pipeline president.”

“We’re aiming for 500 students to get arrested right now and right now our numbers are at 800 who will attend,” said Goodrich, referring to those students from Bowdoin and other schools who will be protesting.

At least 15 students from Bowdoin will go to D.C., with 10 planning on getting arrested.

Goodrich has been working closely with the D.C. police and does not expect any of the protestors to be jailed or convicted, but to instead pay fines.                                                                       

Allyson Gross ’16, vice president for the Bowdoin Democrats, will travel to D.C. as an individual, as the Bowdoin Democrats have not officially endorsed the protest. Gross, a native Texan, staunchly opposes the pipeline and refinery in her state.

“TransCanada said there would be one spill in seven years and there have been 12 in the past year,” said Gross. “It goes through the heartland of America—from Alberta down to Houston.”

“Hopefully, we’ll have a lot of people dressed in black and oily colors and stand in front of the White House,” said Goodrich. “The police will give us a few warnings to move and we won’t.”