A group of 68 enthusiastic St. Mary’s College of Maryland students and faculty leaped into the cold St. Mary’s River yesterday to raise awareness of climate change in the fifth annual Polar Bear Plunge. Water temperature was in the 30s.

Onlookers cheered as the participants triumphantly jumped up and down in the water in celebration. “The air temperature was incredibly warm, but the water was as cold as ever; it just made it easier to warm up afterwards,” said Danny Ruthenberg-Marshall ’11, an organizer of the event. 

The Polar Bear Plunge was started by the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) to raise awareness of global warming.

Air temperatures in the mid 60s might have drawn more daredevils, but some would have come anyway. “I was planning on doing it anyway; it’s for a good cause,” said Tina Giordano ’12. “The warm weather definitely made it easier though, but it was still really cold.”

St. Mary's College of Maryland, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. More than 2,000 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary's River in Southern