By CLAY DUCLOS
STAFF WRITER
Following their first ever presentation in front of the entire Board of Trustees this past Friday, lead members of DivestSLU expressed optimism in how divestment will be carried out in the future of St. Lawrence’s finance management. The club hosted several events this past week leading up to their meeting with the Board to further boost campus awareness and support – over 50 percent of the student body has already signed their petition.
Last Monday and Wednesday two videos were released across social media platforms to call students to action. The first video filmed involved several supporting students speaking their feelings towards climate change and the world’s need for a social movement against it.
Each student echoed the same final line: “The time for change is now.”
The other video was a streamed chat with acclaimed author and environmental activist Bill McKibben, who reiterated the social and financial significance of divesting SLU’s endowment from fossil fuels.
“I look forward to the day we [can] toast each other with good North Country beer the day St. Lawrence decides that it’s going to join everyone else in this work,” McKibben expresses in his closing comment. Both videos of McKibben’s message and of students speaking out can be viewed on the DivestSLU Facebook page.
Last Tuesday, the club held a well-attended showing of “This Changes Everything” in the Winston Room. The documentary, based off Naomi Klein’s best-selling book of the same name, deals with the complex relationship between capitalism and environmental degradation.
On Thursday, the eve of the Board of Trustees meeting, DivestSLU put on a panel discussion titled “Climate, Policy, and the Economy: the Future of US Energy.” Three panelists spoke to the crowded lecture hall: Dr. Dave Murphy, a professor of Environmental Studies and Energy here at SLU; Clara Vondrich, the global director of Invest-Divest Philanthropy and head of the NYC chapter of 350.org (McKibben’s own organization), and Ken Marienau, CEO of Mission Markets Investing and former VP of E*Trade.
Dr. Murphy spoke of the environmental and climatic issues we, as a capitalist, energy-demanding society, have brought upon the world, and the need for a large-scale transition toward alternative energy sources. Vondrich shared her sentiment that divesting is an effective means of pressuring governments and industries to change significantly.
As an historical example, Vondrich brought up how the apartheid government in South Africa was coerced into disbanding in the 1990’s after US investors pulled out of South African markets.
Furthermore, she and Marienau both emphasized their feelings that coal, oil, and natural gas are currently risky, volatile markets to be invested in. Marienau expanded by explaining the contemporary evolution of ‘fiduciary responsibility’, which should now, he contends, “include environmental and ethical costs in all financial decisions.”
DivestSLU presented a panel talk to the Board of Trustees on Friday morning. The presentation was framed on SLU’s moral, fiduciary, and environmental responsibility to no longer profit off the exploitation of fossil fuels. Receptions from the board members were mixed, but they all seemed to be excited of the student body’s overwhelming support of divestment. Discussions on divesting endowment funds will continue at the Board meeting this coming spring. In the meantime, DivestSLU plans to increase campus support by adding more signatures to their petition. Stay tuned for more divestment events in the coming months.