Students at BU listen to anti-hydrofracking panel

There's been so much talk about hydrofracking in the Southern Tier, but for the most part, students have been left out of the conversation. Monday night was their chance to hear about the issue from some notable names. Our Carmen Perez attended a forum at Binghamton University and has more from the newsroom.

VESTAL, N.Y. -- Monday was a unique opportunity for students to get up to date on the gas drilling debate. About 400 people came out to listen to gas drilling opponents speak their mind on the issue.

Some may have come to Monday night's panel just to see him...

"I love Mark Ruffalo so I want to see him in person," one student said.

But Mark Ruffalo came to spread a message. As a resident of Sullivan County, he is on the front lines of the natural gas drilling debate.

"This is a serious issue that a lot of people don't know about and when they are educated on it, they seem to really see clearly on it," Ruffalo said.

And students agree. Organized by campus environmental groups, the information session was aimed at getting their fellow peers in on the discussion about hydrofracking, one that, for the most part, has been left out of.

"It is such an important issue and the magnitude the extent of the effect on our clean water and students' clean water is tremendous and students do not realize that," said BU student Seth Litwack.

"I don't agree that they should do it and I want to learn even more about it," said BU student Sonia Moreno.

Speakers are hoping that by educating students, they will be inspired to action.

"It is their future. It is their environment. So they have got to get much more knowledgeable about what is at stake," said Walter Hang, Toxics Targeted President.

Now you may have noticed the panel was made up of all anti-drilling speakers. That's because the session was organized by student environmental groups opposed to natural gas drilling.