May 3, 2016
College Divestment Campaigns Fall Short on Finals Week
It may be finals season on college campuses, but no one should be more stressed out than fossil fuel divestment activists as rejections abound and the campaigns fail harder than ever. In the same week that Stanford announced it would not drop fossil fuels, new comments from Columbia’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing (ACSRI) have also surfaced showing strong administrative opposition to divestment. Meanwhile, after library lock-ins, elevator occupations, and a handful of student arrests, divestment activists at Colorado College, the University of Northern Arizona, Colombia University and the University of Ottawa have hit serious resistance and outright rejections from their own administrations.
While some groups appear determined to continue in their calls, the campus divestment movement appears to be aggressively failing on more campuses than ever. Below is a roundup of the latest efforts, representing time that would have been better spent studying for finals:
- This weekend at the last University State plenary of the year, Columbia University’s ASCRI chair Jeff Gordon explained that Columbia Divest’s proposal was rejected because divestment has been historically unable to change the behavior of companies and does not distinguish between different practices among fossil fuel firms. As Gordon noted, while prison divestment is “wholly inconsistent with the value of the university,” divestment of fossil fuels is categorically different, noting “It’s hard to take that position with fossil fuel firms. In that, we use fossil fuels.”
- Divestment activists have been quick to claim a divestment win at the University of Utah. In reality, the University’s Academic Senate voted 44-40 in favor of divestment but President Pershing has yet to approve the decision and the school’s board of trustees ultimately decides the university’s investment policies.
- Over the weekend, Colorado College refused to commit to divestment by a May 1st deadline set by student and faculty activists. Apparently the Board was not amused by the divestment proposal so activists took a different approach. According to senior Ben Criswell, “After not gaining much ground with the board with the full-fledged fossil fuel divestment, we decided to reframe the issue from pure divestment to more sustainable investment. That gained a lot more traction with the board.” This isn’t surprising, given the ineffectiveness of divestment over investment.
- Last week Northern Arizona University divestment activists held a sit-in to pressure President Rita Cheng into taking a hard stance on the issue. Eight students got arrested after not learning from Divest UMass students that getting arrested does not make the Board like you more. In response, Cheng said she chooses “pragmatism over symbolism.” In other words, “no.”
- On Saturday, Divest Dartmouth held a rally to urge the school to divest from “the dirtiest fossil fuel companies.” The New Hampshire Union Leader editorialized on the absurdity of the Dartmouth’s protest, noting,
“[Divestment] would stifle economic growth across the developed world, and rob underdeveloped nations of their chance at prosperity. Moreover, the very companies these students demonize are the ones investing the most in researching alternative and renewable fuels. Divesting college endowments from the energy industry would do nothing but satisfy an ignorant mob.”
- The university also said that President Hanlon has “commissioned a document from the college’s Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility” and is carefully considering the issue. However, according to Divest Dartmouth co-founder Leehi Yona, Hanlon has already rejected two previously commissioned reports on the subject.
- Last week, the University of Ottawa rejected divestment and explained that taking practical steps to lower their carbon footprint “will reduce far more greenhouse gases than divesting from fossil fuel companies.” Earlier this year the University of Toronto and McGill University rejected divestment, following the heels of the University of Calgary, Dalhousie University and the University of British Columbia who also previously decided against divestment. Canadian divestment has had a rough year, to say the least.
What we’re seeing is not new news. As students wait for pending decisions from schools like NYU and the University of Denver, it’s not too hard to predict the end result given the campaigns consistent performance. Despite grabbing a few headlines with edgy tactics, fossil fuel divestment campaigns have been facing defeats at every corner for two consecutive years and a turnaround is nowhere in sight.
