(L–R) Jeff Jacobson, Al Gore, Stefan Krepiakevich and Justin Yorke
Before delivering a rallying cry to a rapt crowd at the Victoria Conference Centre on Sept. 29 to address global warming, environmental activist and former US Vice President Al Gore gave a shout-out to three very tired but very thrilled UVic students.
Acknowledging the effort by Jeff Jacobson, Stefan Krepiakevich and Justin Yorke to bring him to Victoria, Gore said “you guys really did show a lot of initiative, and I’m really glad you did.”
For the trio, that kind of recognition made the past month of long days, endless meetings and missed classes worthwhile. “I didn’t know I could be so excited and so tired at the same time,” said Yorke. “I’ve got three mid-terms coming up. I’ve got to get back to classes.”
UVic President David Turpin, who spoke in advance of Gore’s well-received presentation and moderated the follow-up question-and-answer session, also thanked the students in making the event happen.
Prior to Gore’s address in the main hall of the conference centre, Gore and Turpin paid a surprise visit to an overflow room of primarily UVic students who bought tickets to hear and see the presentation via closed-circuit feed.
Throughout his presentation Gore made reference to his student audience, advising them that “this is your moment ... we need a shift in consciousness. When we shift our consciousness about this global crisis, we will solve it.”
UVic was the primary sponsor of Gore’s talk.
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