While most recent Penn alumni were prepping for grad school or enjoying new positions at prestigious companies, 2010 College graduate Jimmy Tobias was spending part of his post-college summer locked in a jail cell in West Virginia.
Starting on July 14, Tobias served 10 days at Southern Regional Jail in Beckley, WV. He was charged with trespassing, littering, obstruction of justice and misdemeanor conspiracy after he worked in collaboration with three other volunteers who had chained themselves to a highwall miner — a piece of machinery that sends a 100-foot conveyor belt into the ground to pull out coal — on Massey Energy’s Bee Tree Surface Mine.
Two volunteers chained themselves directly to the miners, while Jimmy and another volunteer were responsible for on-site communication between the volunteers, police officers and Massey security.
Trooper James Mitchell, the police officer who made the arrest, was unavailable for comment.
The demonstration was part of an ongoing effort by volunteers from Mountain Justice and Climate Ground Zero — two West Virginia-based organizations dedicated to stopping mountain top removal, a common practice in which an explosion or digging occurs at the top of mountains in Appalachia in order to mine for coal.
Though all four of the protestors were arrested — and spent varying amounts of time in jail — they prevented Massey Energy’s mining for about four hours. And ultimately, Tobias said, he believes they halted mining altogether on the day of the demonstration.
Needless to say, Tobias’ summer pastime is a far cry from the more leisurely activities of most of his former classmates. However, according to his friends and colleagues, Tobias — a former Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer — has always stood apart from his peers.
The urban studies major grew up in a small town outside of Detroit — an experience which he found “frustrating” as someone who has loved the outdoors since a backpacking trip at age 14 revealed that “being immersed in the wilderness changes your views of the world,” he said.
In the suburbs, “people are so disconnected from the land and everything that sustains their existence — from the food they eat, to the water they drink, to the air they breathe,” Tobias said.
Once he got to college, though, Tobias said he was able to delve into the activist community.
He helped found the anti-poverty student group Penn Haven, got involved in urban gardening, urban farming and other city-oriented issues such as economic justice and anti-war activism.
“Those were my concerns in Philly because there isn’t too much nature there to fight for,” Tobias said of his activism in Penn’s urban setting.
Jessie Streich-Kest, a 2010 College graduate, met Tobias through Penn Haven. Having spent a year and a half working closely with Tobias on some of the group’s endeavors, she said she was always inspired by his commitment to the causes he fought for.
“It was clear when Jimmy was at school that he was ahead of us in his radicalism — it was very developed,” she said. “It was clear he was going to be really active.”
Just two weeks after graduating from Penn in May, Tobias had escaped the city for West Virginia, where he participated in Mountain Justice’s summer camp for young adults interested in environmental activism.
In West Virginia, Tobias said, he was inspired by the natural “underrated treasures” of Appalachia.
Moreover, he found the campaign “an intersection of environmental justice and human rights. People are poisoned here every day, people are intimidated by the thuggery of the coal corporations and investors.”
A call to Massey Energy was not returned by the time this article went to press.
Tobias’ conviction was clear to other Climate Ground Zero and Mountain Justice volunteers since he arrived at camp. Charles Suggs, a volunteer who works on press outreach and fundraising, said Tobias brought “good, fresh energy to the campaign.”
Tobias’ strong convictions were tested when he made the decision to participate in the demonstration, especially since he had “no doubt we would get arrested,” Tobias said.
“There was definitely some anxiety,” he added, “but we were committed to this and commitment can overcome fear.”
Looking back on his ten-day stint behind bars, however, Tobias said his experience did not live up to the horrifying myth surrounding incarceration.
Ironically, he said, the worst part of jail was the boredom and the food, while the best part was meeting inmates with all different types of stories.
Now facing an upcoming court date which could serve him with anything from a fine to more jail time, Tobias said, “if I had to go back [to jail] I would, though I wouldn’t want to.”
According to Tobias’ close friend, 2010 College graduate Elena Stein, Tobias’ actions have consequences even more far-reaching than the prospect of his spending more time in jail.
“From the moment he went to jail, every person who knows Jimmy now knows what’s going on. He won’t shut down Massey, but the effects of the past two weeks are multi-layered.”
