Student Uses Parkour to Avoid Talking About the Environment

Students at the University of Iowa are familiar with environmental groups and student organizations recruiting people in the streets. Recently, they’ve found a creative new way to avoid them: parkour.

Ben Conway was on Clinton Street last Friday when he heard something that made him look away from his Twitter feed.

“Hi, do you have a minute to talk about global warming? Greenhouse gas emissions are steadily rising, and there are things we can all do to take responsibility,” said Carla Johnson, a representative from Eco Group, holding out a pamphlet in Conway’s direction.

Without responding, Conway jumped onto the slick bench beside her and executed a backflip in the opposite direction. He collided with a city garbage can upon landing, knocking it over, and fled the scene.

Like other bystanders, Johnson was confused.

“There are a lot of people who don’t want to hear about environmental issues. But he could’ve just said no. Like…damn.”

Conway was confident in how he’d handled the situation.

“Yeah, it was sick,” he commented, “I didn’t want to get stuck talking about the rainforest or whatever for an hour, so I used the opportunity to practice some maneuvers. I think it looked pretty cool too.”

Conway had no comment about the garbage can.