LITTLE ROCK — Cody Hooks speaks for the trees, or so says a shirt his friend made for him. The trees, themselves, aren't in a position to argue, and probably wouldn't anyway.
An 18-year-old senior at Mills University Studies High School in Little Rock, Hooks was named the Student of the Year by the Arkansas chapter of the Sierra Club back in February, thanks in large part to his involvement in the No New Coal Movement and the Arkansas Sustainability Network's bike co-op.
"When I found out about the coal issue, I knew something had to be done, and I wanted to be one of those people who tried to do it," said Hooks, who dated his involvement back to the Energy Shift concert at The Village last March. He'd gotten involved with the bike co-op as a volunteer and eventually organizer shortly before.
He took his passion for the coal cause and what he learned at the concert with him to Governor's School over the summer, where he "started people thinking about it" and ended up with a petition addressed to Gov. Mike Beebe signed by more than half the students there. Ultimately, he was one of three students in a personal meeting with the governor about the coal issue.
Out of the summer activism also came a Facebook group, the Greenest Generation, started by Hooks and friend Grace Arnold of Pulaski Academy. With updates on the coal front and encouragement to write letters, the group was specifically directed at getting high schoolers to be more environmentally and socially aware, Hooks said.
"There are definitely obstacles in getting people in high school motivated and trying to get them to care," said Hooks. "A lot of them are just not interested in anything political or with ties to energy policy."
Still, with weekly meetings of the leadership on the deck at Vino's and cyberspace networking, the group grew to more than 150 members, all in high school, including a few who volunteered at the No New Coal rally at the Capitol in October.
Since then, though, things have cooled off a bit as many members of the group have had to turn their focus to applying for college. In that department, Hooks recently got his acceptance to Yale, and is debating between that and Hendrix, a decision he says will largely be influenced by available financial aid. Regardless of where he goes, he wants to pursue environmental studies with an emphasis in politics and government. Maybe there's a future in elective office. Who knows, says Hooks, who offers the reminder that he's only 18.
"Now that the college decisions are made, we hope to get people involved again and start rebuilding that [Facebook] network," he said.
Realistically, there may only be so much influence a student can exert while still living under his parents' roof, but that doesn't mean he can't become involved in a cause or educated about issues, Hooks said. If it can be more than that, great.
"You have to try not to lose your purpose. You've got to step outside from time to time and listen to a bird and remember what it is you're trying to fight for."