NextGen Climate Ohio held a kickoff party to introduce their organization on Tuesday in the Student Center.

NextGen Climate is a political action committee that does work nationally for climate causes and election efforts. Local organizers and fellows for the group used the event as a way to spread the word about their cause and attempt to gain new volunteers.

“I support what NextGen is doing,” said Paige Adams, a Kent resident and NextGen volunteer. “I’ve always been an advocate for the environment and I think climate change is a big problem that needs to be addressed.”

NextGen Climate Ohio has mainly been working on voter registration and informing students about climate candidates. They are also attempting to dissuade people from voting for candidates they believe will be harmful to environmental causes including Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

“I think NextGen Climate is a good way to make people aware of the environment and the candidates that are about the environment,” said Jaynell Nicholson, a senior conservation biology major and NextGen volunteer.

“I love the Earth,” Nicholson said. “People have to care about the environment in order to get things done.”

Julie Benson, a freshman exploratory major, is new to the group and decided to attend her first meeting after she learned about NextGen Climate online.

“I’m really passionate about the environment and climate change,” Benson said. “I think that it’s frankly the biggest threat the world faces.”

Many group members stressed the importance that the election has for environmental issues.

“It is especially important in this election if Donald Trump wins it could set back all the environmental work done in the last few years,” Adams said. “Climate change is a huge issue and it effects everyone, literally everyone.”

Brooke Forrest is the student politics reporter, contact her at [email protected].