Under a cloudless blue sky, St. Mary’s College of Maryland students, faculty, and staff braved bloody feet and gusts over 30 miles an hour to plunge into the 39 degree St. Mary’s River during this year’s Third Polar Bear Plunge on Feb. 12. 

The annual Student Environmental Action Coalition sponsored event at the college produced even more environmentalists this year in an effort to raise awareness about climate change, churning out over 150 plungers, including one “polar bear.”  Nearly 200 dry observers cheered on the participants as they charged in, then charged out, of the chilly waters, nursing cuts from rocks and windburn.  

This year, SEAC raised thousands of dollars in donations to send SMCM students to PowerShift ’09 in Washington, D.C., the second national youth summit committed to solving the climate crisis.  PowerShift ’09 aims to bring together more than ten thousand youth leaders from across the country in order to share ideas, learn new skills, make connections, and establish a national voice for our generation.  Last year, over fifty St. Mary's students attended Powershift.