Travel Scholarships
Funding for travel scholarships is underway! We understand that finding funds can be difficult for college aged students and want to make this Convergence as accessible as possible. We do suggest first using any available avenues to fund-raise travel fees such as college/university grants, on campus groups with budgets, local environmental affiliations etc. However, please feel free to fill out this scholarship form in the event that you need help in bringing yourself/a member of your group to the Convergence.
DEADLINE FOR TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS IS FEB 14!
Open Call for Caucuses
Within our movement, there are a diversity of identities, positions, interests, and affinities. Caucuses are breakout spaces where participants can meet with others who share an identity, providing safe spaces to develop solidarity, collaboration, and critique within the larger convergence structure. They can be spaces for sharing stories, establishing principles, taking action, and more. We are issuing an open call for caucus breakouts – if you are interested in organizing/facilitating a caucus during the convergence, please email OR . We will provide support to folks that are interested in leading/facilitating but want help!
People of Color Caucus – Open Call: All participants who identify as persons of color are invited to help organize the People of Color Caucus. We will collaborate online and by conference call from now until the convergence. If you identify as a person of color and are interested in joining the POC Caucus, have agenda suggestions, are interested in facilitating/planning, or just want to join the discussion, please email .
Getting to the Convergence
Swarthmore is accessible by train, car, bus or airplane. No matter how you are travelling to the convergence, please fill out this form ASAP to inform us of your school’s travel plans.
When you arrive on Friday, come to the Friends Meetinghouse (see campus map) for registration. From there, we will direct you to the place where you will be staying.
If you have other questions, please contact Pat Walsh at or 610-675-4367.
Driving
If you are getting directions from Google or Mapquest, enter your destination as “Elm Ave. and Whittier Pl., Swarthmore, PA, 19081″. This will get you to the North entrance of the College. Turn onto Whittier and follow it to its end. Park in the Water Tower or DuPont Parking Lot.
Bus
Megabus or BoltBus — Take these buses to 30th and JFK in Philadelphia. They will drop you off one block from the 30th Street train station. Go into the station and take the SEPTA regional rail Media/Elwyn line to Swarthmore. Here is the schedule for the Media/Elwyn line. Please note that the schedule is different on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Please also note that if you’re arriving on the bus after midnight, the train will no longer be running. Get in touch with us and we will arrange to pick you up.
Greyhound — The Philadelphia Greyhound station is located on 10th and Filbert. This is one block from the Market East SEPTA station at 11th and Filbert. Go to Market East and take the SEPTA regional rail Media/Elwyn line to Swarthmore. Here is the schedule for the Media/Elwyn line. Please note that the schedule is different on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Please also note that if you’re arriving on the bus after midnight, the train will no longer be running. Get in touch with us and we will arrange to pick you up.
Train
All trains to Philadelphia will end at 30th Street Station. At the station, transfer to the SEPTA regional rail Media/Elwyn line to Swarthmore. Here is the schedule for the Media/Elwyn line. Please note that the schedule is different on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Please also note that if you’re arriving on the train after midnight, the regional rail line will no longer be running. Get in touch with us and we will arrange to pick you up.
Media/Elwyn Line (Center City to/from Swarthmore)
Airport Line (PHL Airport to/from Center City)
Regional Rail Map (all lines)
Airplane
If you are flying into Philadelphia International Airport, the best way to get to Swarthmore is for us to pick you up. Please fill out the travel form with your flight number and arrival time, and we will arrange to pick you up.
Parking and Registration Map
Packing List/Housing
- An open attitude and willingness to learn and share. You will be making connections with people from across the country to build the divestment and environmental justice movement together! People will be coming from different political and personal backgrounds, with different ideas about how to make change happen. It’s up to each of us to bridge these divides in order to understand each other better and build a movement that can win.
- Sleeping bag is an absolute necessity. A sleeping pad and pillow are also strongly encouraged, but not totally necessary. We will be sleeping on the hard floor of a local Quaker meeting that has been kind enough to lend us their space. (Maybe bring a simple thank you card for them, if that’s your kind of thing).
- Clothes: Pack for the weather. Rain and snow are both possible, so be prepared for either. We will be inside for the sessions but don’t forget hats, gloves, jackets, scarves, and of course the basics of pants, shirts, sweaters, underwear, and socks. Formal attire is not necessary.
- Toiletries: bring toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and whatever else you like.
- Bring a notebook and something to write with. You will be learning from your fellow leaders! A notebook will help you make connections and bring all your knowledge back to your school.
- Electronics: Phone chargers will help you stay in touch. If you would like to bring a laptop, internet will be available at the College, but this is not a necessity.
- Musical instruments! Calling all musicians! There will be plenty of time to sing, jam, and make music together – there might even be an open mic Friday night – so bring all your music makers.
Wifi at the Convergence (Instructions)
Swarthmore College has a guest network where participants can access Wifi Internet. Please download these instructions for how to connect to the network.
Suggest a Student Speaker!
Dear student divestment organizers,
On behalf of the Programming and Training working groups for the upcoming Fossil Fuel Divestment Convergence (2 months away! So soon!!), we are reaching out in search of student speakers for the convergence. While we are working on bringing in a good amount of older folks with different experiences and different contexts for their work, we all know that this convergence, and this movement, depends on us: the youth, the recently politicized, the newly energized, the born-into-an-already-failing-planet generation.
That’s why we are looking for students interested in speaking about their organizing and activism within the fossil fuel divestment movement. We would like you all to nominate a student who you think would be up for the task (you can even nominate yourself!) and write up a few sentences about what you think this person has to share that would be valuable for everyone at the convergence to hear.
We want to encourage all of you to think deeply about which faces and voices have already been brought into the foreground – either in your group, or in the broader movement – and urge you to nominate people whose story hasn’t been heard as frequently as some others. If you are someone who tends to be your group’s first pick when a spokesperson or public face is needed, consider moving back and giving someone else a chance to talk about their perspective and experience. If you are comfortable in public speaking roles, you might consider doing a skillshare to help prepare someone else in your group who you think has knowledge to share. This is a really awesome way to spread out skills and tools amongst a range of people, so that we are never relying on just one or two mouths to amplify our multitudinous voices.
We look forward to receiving your nominations! Please submit them via the Contact Page or send an email to divestmentconvergence(at)gmail(dot)com
