On Dec. 5, 2015, Connecticut College’s chapter of Oceana, a student club that raises awareness about the importance of protecting the world’s oceans, held its fourth annual polar plunge at Ocean Beach in New London, Connecticut. As tradition dictates, participating students ran into the chilly Atlantic Ocean while other students supported their peers from the shore. Students were encouraged to donate at least $5 to participate in the plunge. “Non-plunging” students could also donate money to the cause by supporting friends. According to a post written by CC Oceana to ConnQuest, the goals of the polar plunge were to raise money to donate to Oceana International and to fundraise for the club itself. Another objective of the polar plunge was to have different student organizations, clubs and athletic teams work together in a fun way to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the oceans.
Oceana, an ocean conservation and advocacy non-profit organization, was established in 2001 by a collection of foundations, such as the Oak Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. According to its mission statement, Oceana “seeks to make our oceans as rich, healthy, and abundant as they once were…by winning policy victories in the countries that govern much of the world’s marine life.” Oceana operates on a global scale and seeks to protect and restore the world’s oceans through policy and educational campaigns. Since its founding, Oceana has achieved a number of successes. For instance, according to Oceana’s official website, in June 2015, the organization helped to establish a ban on shark fin sales in Texas through years of campaigning.
CC Oceana executive board and club members actively promoted the polar plunge. Jesse Kannan ’16, one of CC Oceana’s presidents, said that club members “tried a lot of different methods to get the word out about the event. We sent out emails to sports team and clubs encouraging them to take part in the event. We also posted on Facebook and Instagram. Coffee Grounds even created a drink called the Polar Plunge to raise awareness. Our most successful way of getting students to sign up was tabling outside of Harris a few days before the event.”
The promotion and outreach that Kannan describes proved to be effective. The Connecticut College women’s rowing team and the Outdoors Club both participated. Both groups brought a number of eager students to the event as well.
Jessica Wright ’16, CC Oceana’s other president, and Kannan both feel that this year’s polar plunge was especially successful. “I think each year we host this event, it gains more popularity on campus. People now know that it is a tradition and get excited about it. Jessica and I made more of an effort this year to reach out to sports teams, and other Oceana members were really great at spreading the word and encouraging their friends to join us,” said Kannan.
Even though Kannan has completed several polar plunges as a CC Oceana member, she still, like many others, gets excited by running into the frigid water. “I definitely know what to expect, but it is still a shock every year. Luckily this year the weather was really warm, which make the plunge a lot easier,” reflected Kannan.
Students, faculty and staff can look forward to attending future CC Oceana events for the coming semester, such as a celebration of Earth Day in April and more beach cleanups. Kannan added, “We are also hoping to do a screening of the new documentary, Racing Extinction!” •
