NATIONWIDE DAY OF ACTION TO RESIST AND REJECT TRUMP’S CLIMATE DENIAL: JOIN HERE
On Monday, January 23rd, the Divestment Student Network and 350.org are calling for nationwide student walkouts to resist and reject the climate denial of the newly-inaugurated Trump administration. There is no room for neutrality in the face of an administration that is threatening the very future of this planet.
Divestment leaders are organizing the biggest coordinated student action in our movement’s history. During Trump’s first 100 hours, thousands of students are walking out of class to hold emergency climate meetings, rallies outside our President’s offices, and more. Click here to join an action.
We are demanding that our universities stand with us and defend our futures by rejecting Trump’s denial, and providing the moral leadership we need by divesting from the fossil fuel industry and reinvesting in solutions that will fight the climate crisis.
Why?
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Students are making it clear that we are going to fight Trump’s regressive climate agenda every step of the way. We will not stand by while Trump stacks his cabinet with climate deniers, white supremacists, and Wall Street bankers.
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We are walking out of our classrooms because our universities can no longer continue to back the coal, oil, and natural gas companies who are celebrating Trump’s victory and committing the globe to extreme levels of warming and disaster. The era of Trump must be one of resistance and noncompliance.
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One thing that gives us hope is that our movement knows how to use the tools of the people - collective power and bold direct action. From our five years of divestment campaigns to the resistance at Standing Rock, we’ve seen it work over and over again. Now more than ever, we must all join together to fight for our collective future.
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This day of action is only the beginning. We’re laying out a strategy for a wave of continuous escalation throughout the Spring to #ResistRejectDenial every step of the way.
Are you with us?
Three next steps:
Bring your team on board (find an action or register your own)
Trump is assembling an administration that works solely for the interests for the 1%, including Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson and other fossil fuel tycoons. Combatting that means taking action more boldly than we ever have before, and you’ll need a team at your back. What conversations do you need to have to bring in other members of your campaign? Plan a call with your core group of leaders over break.
Name your goals.
Our generation will deal with the impacts of this presidency for the rest of our lives, and we need as many people as possible to organize alongside us. From day one we must gather with our community and strengthen our campaigns for the long haul. Campaigns are the vehicle to carry people-power forward, so we must take action with future building in mind. What do you need to get out of this action in order to further your campaign? How will you use this as an opportunity to recruit people into the fight for divestment and climate justice? How will you spread the word to media and through your own platforms?
Make your plan.
Though many schools are on Winter Break, early planning is key! Creating the outline of a recruitment plan, setting a few narrative points, and laying out buckets of work shouldn’t wait [i.e. someone create a facebook event]. What will your action look like? When and where will it be? Are there other campus leaders who need to know about it sooner rather than later? How are you going to recruit all the new people not currently active in your campaign who want to mobilize against hate and denial? [i.e. class raps, dorms storms, etc]
An action toolkit with more fleshed out talking points, a media toolkit, and details on how to plan for this day of action is coming soon!
Divestment Student Network Principles
What we believe
1) Climate change is a real and serious threat to current and future generations. Impacts are already being felt in the U.S. and worldwide, and those who have contributed the least to this change are often the most affected by it.
2) The path to ecological sustainability requires a moral and material transformation in our relationships to land, labor and one another. Transitioning away from fossil fuels means transitioning towards justice.
3) The business model of the fossil fuel industry is inherently flawed. It is a pillar holding up a broken economy that extracts life rather than supporting it.
4) Serving the interests of the 1% is not in the mission of our universities, yet they are increasingly coming under corporate control and refusing to act in the interest of students.
Why we unite
5) We have a common stake in this fight. As young people, we will inherit the consequences of a poorly managed environment and economy.
6) Through deep personal relationships, we can challenge and support each other to grow personally and as leaders.
7) Unity increases our local, regional and global impact. Positive social change comes from people standing together, speaking up and taking action.
8) A united national organization provides support for us to continue our social change work beyond divestment. Our engagement will not end with graduation; we are in it for the long haul.
How we make change
9) We build relationships with fellow students, provide opportunities for short term loans and development, and collectively increase our power and commitment to social change.
10) We take nonviolent direct action to identify the fossil fuel industry as a bad actor and pressure our universities to divest.
11) We support student struggles including those targeting student debt, racial injustice and sexual assault. All of our struggles are bound together and often have the same root cause.
12) We are committed to building alliances with frontline communities, those most impacted by fossil fuel extraction and climate change, as they are the experts in resisting fossil fuels and building a better world. Strong alliances help us win on divestment and build a broader and more powerful climate justice movement.