Sometimes the simplest tools make the boldest statements. Armed with sidewalk chalk and a willingness to challenge campus orthodoxies, CFACT Collegians in California took their message straight to the walkways students travel every day—turning ordinary concrete into a canvas for free-market energy and climate realism.
At California State University, Sacramento, CFACT campus representative Robert Byrd led a sidewalk chalk campaign that combined our collegian “Green Is Not Clean” campaign messaging with clear, pro-nuclear slogans. Spanning a busy pedestrian bridge, the chalk statements were impossible to miss—and impossible to ignore.
Before the chalk ever hit the pavement, Byrd used the opportunity to explain what CFACT stands for to half a dozen participating students, sparking conversations alternative perspectives to the one-sided environmental messaging they’re accustomed to seeing on campus. As the drawings took shape and slogans brainstormed, passersby young and old alike voiced encouragement and appreciation, urging the group to keep going. The reaction reinforced a simple truth: when people are exposed to a different perspective, many welcome it.
Further south, San Diego State University student interns Caleb Rothstein and Jack Krepps paired sidewalk chalk with tabling to introduce CFACT to their campus for the first time—and the response exceeded expectations.
Students stopped to ask questions, grab flyers and stickers, and learn more about CFACT’s mission. While a handful pushed back against bold slogans like “Drill Baby Drill,” most interactions were respectful and genuinely curious. The chalk writing drew attention, the table anchored conversations, and by the end of the day the students had built momentum for future activism—so much so that they launched a group chat to keep interested peers engaged moving forward. For a first-ever CFACT presence at SDSU, it was a clear win.
Together, these California sidewalk chalk campaigns show how low-cost, high-visibility activism can cut through campus noise and invite real dialogue. With nothing more than chalk and conviction, CFACT Collegians are reclaiming public spaces for honest conversation—one sidewalk at a time.
