Environmental conf. to draw big crowd

More than 1,400 Penn students signed up in the past few weeks to join forces with thousands of college students from around the country at ECOnference 2000, to be held here at Penn next weekend, in hopes of spreading awareness about environmental concerns. The conference will take place on campus from October 15-17 and will offer a variety of activities, workshops and speakers to get students involved and motivated to take an active role in the fight to save the environment. In 1995, the University hosted a similar environmental conference known as Free the Planet. Organizers of this year's conference felt that the University had proven itself a good host and that Penn would be the best place to hold ECOnference 2000. According to Kristina Rencic, a College junior and chairperson of the Penn Environmental Group, the purpose of the conference is for students to lead the charge for environmental action as the millennium approaches. She added that students should realize the severity of worldwide environmental problems. The conference is expected to be one of the biggest student environmental events in history and a sign of the growing concern among students for the future of the environment. One of the main objectives of the conference is to launch a Job Boycott Campaign. Students will be asked to sign a contract stating that they will not work for any company whose operations have been labeled as a threat to the environment. Some of the speakers will include Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, who will open the conference, consumer rights activist Ralph Nader and attorney Jan Schlichtmann, author of A Civil Action. Workshops will be held throughout the weekend to teach students actions they can take to bring about change in their own communities. The weekend will also include live entertainment, featuring a performance by the band Spearhead. On October 17, the conference will conclude with a parade, during which students will march alongside giant floats through the streets of Philadelphia. Despite the already large number of University students who have signed up to attend the conference, leaders from Penn Environmental Group expect a few hundred more to become involved, with an estimated total of about 2,000 Penn students. "I think its a great thing to be a part of and am looking forward to attending," Engineering freshman John Wolff said.