SCCAP Associate Director Jasmine Vu ’26 holds up signs in front of the Benson Memorial Center at the Make Polluters Pay Rally on Friday, Oct. 24. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Students, staff and community members gathered at Alameda Lawn on Oct. 24, 2025 to demand corporate accountability for climate damage, rallying in support of the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act—a stalled California bill that would require the state’s largest emitters to fund climate relief and mitigation projects.

The rally included sign-making, informational tables and multiple speakers. Speakers included Santa Clara city councilmember Sudhanshu Jain, San Jose city councilmember David Cohen and Associated Student Government Chief of Staff Gracie James-Hickey ’26, all sharing their passion for environmental action.

When addressing the crowd, James-Hicky connected environmental advocacy to social justice.

“Climate change is not just an environmental issue, it's a human rights issue as well,” said James-Hickey to the group of advocates.

Santa Clara City Councilmember Suds Jain speaks at the Make Polluters Pay Rally at Santa Clara University on Friday, Oct. 24. Jain spoke about teaching about climate change at schools in the area and how he is pushing the City of Santa Clara to become more environmentally friendly. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Students listen to Santa Clara City Councilmember Suds Jain at the Make Polluters Pay Rally at Santa Clara University on Friday, Oct. 24. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act is a California-wide movement pushing for this bill's passage and the establishment of a superfund funded by payments from the state’s biggest polluters.

It aims to use that superfund to pay for California projects for climate mitigation and climate relief.

“If we had this when the LA fires were occurring this past year, we would have been able to lessen a lot of that damage and a lot of the costs from California taxpayers in that community,” ENACT—an on-campus advocacy department through SCCAP—coordinator Kelly Rickwa ’28 said.

Although primarily organized by Rickwa and ENACT, they collaborated with Turnout, Santa Clara University’s climate action club and other environmental advocacy groups on campus to put on the rally and advocate for the bill.

Kelly Rickwa ’28, the organizer of Santa Clara University’s Make Polluters Pay Rally speaks at the rally. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Make Polluter Pays Acts have been passed in Vermont and New York, and have now led to many states intending to follow and enact similar legislation, including California, although it is currently on hold.

One of the informational tables at the rally included a petition advocating for the bill’s passage that will be sent to the government. Many students signed the petition throughout the rally.

“I signed the petition after learning that it is attempting to protect taxpayers in California for spending their money to fix issues they didn’t cause,” Mae McGivney ’28 said.

While promoting awareness of the bill and the issue at hand was their primary goal in holding this rally, they also wanted to show students that environmental action was something they could be part of here on campus and gauge student interest.

As the rally came to a close, organizers encouraged students to stay engaged and continue pushing for the bill’s passage. Whether through petitions, club involvement or public advocacy, leaders said the movement to “make polluters pay” won’t stop on the Alameda Lawn.