by Catelyn Fitzgerald ’23
Global Divestment Day saw protests on college campuses around the nation demand that universities cut their financial ties to the fossil fuel industry. Mount Holyoke’s own Climate Justice Coalition hosted a walk-out and rally, with assistance from Sunrise South Hadley, on Thursday, Feb. 13.
Hundreds of students marched across campus in orange bandanas with felt squares pinned to jackets, backpack and hats. The color orange represents how the fight against the fossil fuel industry goes beyond the environment and encompasses economic and racial justice issues as well.
The event which was originally planned to be held on the steps leading up to Blanchard Hall, was moved into the second floor of Blanch due to rain. As the last students filed inside, the space was filled with singing. “The people gonna rise like the water, We’re gonna calm this crisis down, Hear the voice of my great-granddaughter, Singin’ keep it in the ground.”
The rally portion of the walk-out began with a land acknowledgment, to remind students that the land they were on had been stolen from its native inhabitants and built upon with slave labor. Student protestors hoped to remind their peers that their activism stretches beyond divestment and speaks to greater injustices of the past that cannot be reversed. They can, however, be acknowledged and addressed through the fight against climate change, which disproportionately affects racially and economically oppressed groups. Solidarity was also expressed with those who are currently protesting the building of a pipeline on indigenous lands in Canada.
The rally featured several speakers, students and faculty alike, who spoke about why Mount Holyoke needs to divest and how the fossil fuel industry affects them personally. Speakers included Olivia Aguilar, Director of the Miller Worley Center for the Environment and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Dannye Carpenter `20, Tasha Elizarde `22, Emma Sullivan `22 and Grace Wason `23.
Wason shared a poem that reflected on why climate justice is seen as a controversial subject in society, rather than an unquestioned priority for all people. She was interrupted on multiple occasions, with applause and shouts of agreement from the crowd of students.
Sullivan reminded students that numbers don’t lie when it comes to campus support for divestment. According to a student survey done by the Climate Justice Coalition, Ninety-two percent of faculty and 88 percent of students want the college to divest from fossil fuels, according to a student survey by Climate Justice Coalition. Despite this, the Board of Trustees still voted unanimously to remain invested in fossil fuels in 2016, Sullivan also pointed out the complexity of Mount Holyoke’s investment strategies. The College invests in commingled funds, meaning that the money is spread out over multiple companies. This makes it difficult to know exactly how much money goes to fossil fuel companies. Despite the ambiguity of Mount Holyoke’s investments, there are “green” portfolio options available to the school that would allow a switch to be made away from fossil fuel investment without the complication of attempting to remove money from fossil fuel companies in commingled funds.
Aguilar pointed out that, while some students felt comfortable with protesting by means of a walk-out and rally, not all students wish to express themselves through those methods.At the end of her speech, she asked the audience to make sure to vote.
On February 27, the Board of Trustees will have its next meeting. While it is unknown if divestment will be on the agenda, the success of the day of action will be measured by the impact that it made on the Board’s approach to investments in the future.