The University of Maine won a victory last January when their campus divested from coal.

UMaine students organized to get a wide base of support– from students to alumni to faculty and community members– to achieve divestment.

On Monday afternoon, January 26th, 2015– the University of Maine System Board of Trustees unanimously approved a measure to divest all direct holdings from coal companies. The historic vote followed a two-year campaign led by students at the University of Southern Maine and University of Maine campuses. The move makes the University of Maine System the first public land grant institution and the first University System in the country to divest any fossil fuel holdings.

How did we get to this victory? The following is a list of advice based off our campaign:

1.) Keep it personal.

I’m sure you’ve all heard this before, but it’s important. We need to remind ourselves that while we’re students and organizers we’re people too. There are many aspects of our lives that motivate us to work for fossil fuel divestment. When you bring forward your story it encourages ours. For example, our Trustee Marjorie Medd spoke of her father’s health issues after working in the coal industry, which she said inspired her to pursue higher education. “We have to take this to a personal level,” she said.

For me, it’s the town I’ve grown up in and live in: South Portland, Maine. Oil holding tanks were always in the backdrop from elementary to high school. And within the past two years my town has held ground against a proposal to export tar sands oil through the Portland-Montreal pipeline. Working on that campaign I watched the power of the people, even today, when we face a lawsuit from Exxon Mobil. And while my town is safe for now, there are already communities suffering from tar sands oil in Alberta, Canada, in Kalamazoo, in Mayflower, and stretched along the Key XL Pipeline. The fossil fuel industry has political and financial power, as I’ve so explicitly seen in South Portland’s local campaign. For me, fossil fuel divestment is the best way to dismantle this power and to restore what we do value in higher education.

2.) Connect our history with our future.    

Looking at the past, we can find inspiration and support.The University System made history in the 1980s when it became one of the first University institutions in the country to divest from Apartheid South Africa. When our Trustees worried that coal divestment would create an unwanted precedent, we reminded them that precedent was set with Apartheid South Africa. Aligning ethics with fiduciary responsibility has been a part of past, and our future. Trustee Bonnie Newsome also expressed a desire to move toward full fossil fuel divestment. “I would like to see our investment committee continue to consider divestment from fossil fuels more generally,” said Trustee Newsome, after pointing out the many ecological thresholds that we are currently crossing.

And it’s a good reminder that, “Coal is the energy of the past. As world governments place stricter limits on carbon emissions, as they must if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change, coal reserves will lose their value. Divesting now protects our assets, and sends the message that we take climate change seriously,” said Divest UMaine student-organizer, Catherine Fletcher. “We are ecstatic that the Board of Trustees made the right decision today, and once again put us on the right side of history,” said Fletcher.

3.) Gather community support.

Within our core organizing team we have Alumni and faculty folks. It’s important to have a wide base of support, especially when our system universities are far apart. Early on in our campaign we gained both student and faculty senate approval to our divestment resolution at the University of Southern Maine and are currently working on this at the UMaine campus. Our divestment campaign is linked into a network of Maine schools through the student-led coalition, Maine Students for Climate Justice. Having this network of support across the state has helped increased the crowd at rallies and meetings, during social blitz, and reassurance.

In our campaign we make it personal, and try to use our position of privilege to address the racist and classist systems upheld by the fossil fuel industry. Students have argued that fossil fuel divestment is a necessary move for the system, both morally and financially. Meaghan LaSala is a member of Divest UMaine. “It is our responsibility to align our investments with industries that are compatible with justice for communities that have borne the brunt of the toxic and exploitative practices of the fossil fuel industry— disproportionately low income communities and communities of color,” she said.

Much gratitude and solidarity,

Iris SanGiovanni & the Divest UMaine Team

UM students demand divestment on this past Global Divestment Day 2015.

On Friday, February 13th, 20 students, alumni, and community members marched to the UM Foundation offices and delivered 60 divestment and “I Love Clean Energy”- themed valentines to Shane Giese, President and CEO of the Foundation, and Jamie Stanton, CFO of the Foundation. We made our presence known and filled the conference room where we met with the administrators. Most of the participants shook hands and introduced themselves to Giese, while offering their thoughts on why the Foundation should divest from fossil fuels.

Over the winter, the Sustainable Campus Committee, who had been tasked with looking into divestment in the fall, sent a letter the the Foundation Board Chair requesting a student presence at their spring board meeting. They rejected the proposal, and instead are forming a committee to investigate divestment. Sadly, they have denied students’ requests to be present on the committee. This will not deter us, however, and we will keeping pushing for what is right.

We believe that it is irresponsible for a university that thrives “to become a leader and role model among like-sized university foundations” to continue its investments in the fossil fuel industry. By divesting now we would become a leader, one of only 19 universities in the United States to commit to divestment. UM’s vision statement reads, “The University of Montana will lead as a globally focused public research university that serves the state, nation and world. Intrinsic to this mission are the underlying values of leadership, engagement, diversity and sustainability”. Sustainability is one of UM’s four core values, and they do not yet see divestment as the right choice for the university.

It was extremely moving and inspiring to see so many people come forward to explain why they were there, and then further question Giese about the Foundation’s stance on divestment. It was clear that he wasn’t as comfortable as he has been in previous meetings with us, I think seeing so many students and community members directly confronting him was a big eye opener for him. After the initial action, we spent a couple of hours gathering petition signatures and advertising the launch of our Responsible Endowments Fund.

Alas, the fight will continue and we shall prevail!

UM students march to the UM Foundation offices on Global Divestment Day.

Students at University of Santa Barbara called upon UC chancellors and Regents to support their students and our futures against the fossil fuel industry.

Californians demand real climate leadership. One week after the largest-ever

anti-fracking rally – the March for Real Climate Leadership in Oakland, CA — students

and community members took action on University of California campuses for climate

justice on the first-ever Global Divestment Day. We took action with flair and with a

renewed focus on pressuring campus administrators to come out with a public stance

on divestment. We took action together, with giant Valentine’s Day cards, with mock

weddings, with marches, and with guerilla art alongside indigenous allies; we were joined

by communities on five continents demanding that their institutions pick a side in the

struggle for our future and divest from fossil fuels. But most of all, we took action because

we have a stronger conviction than ever that we must win this fight.  And  we’re beginning

to see our efforts pay off.

Recent press coverage is proving that our efforts do not exist in a vacuum; we are beginning to

make the fossil fuel industry squirm. The recent storm of misguided anti-divestment arguments,

crafted by fossil fuel lobbying groups and their allies, is some of the strongest evidence yet that

fossil fuel divestment is an effective tactic. They’re not dumb; they recognize that divestment is

capable of making the fossil fuel industry the pariah it deserves to be, just as past divestment

campaigns stigmatized Big Tobacco and South African apartheid. Our movement is gaining

power, and they’re scared — because winning divestment would mean realizing that we must

keep 80% of carbon in the ground, effectively undermining the industry’s wealth. As Divestment

Student Network co-founder Kate Aronoff pointed out this week in Waging Nonviolence: the

louder carbon corporations shout, the more we know that we’re getting that much closer to

winning.

Students at the University of California have been pushing the Regents since 2013 to stand on

the side of the students and align their actions with their stated climate and moral leadership.

Since 2011, we’ve been building stronger campus teams and a more coordinated strategy, and

we’re beginning to get traction. Our campuses are now taking the heat to their Chancellors, and

we’re already getting some dialogue. On Global Divestment Day, Chancellor Blumenthal of UC

Santa Cruz released a blog post speaking to the importance of dealing with climate change and

the promise of the fossil fuel divestment campaign. He wrote that Fossil Free UCSC “students

remain determined to see the Regents approve full fossil fuel divestment,” and that meeting them

leaves him with “little doubt that we are well on our way toward understanding that fossil fuels

cannot remain a part of our collective future.” Chancellor Blumenthal seems to understand that

students need real climate leadership from university administration; climate leadership doesn’t

ignore the crucial role the fossil fuel industry plays in exacerbating climate chaos and climate injustice.

As the year progresses, we’re not just going to be asking for divestment with words. We’re going

to be demanding it with our actions. Through history, nonviolent direct action and

civil disobedience have been critical components of struggles for justice. When task forces,

committees, and other traditional channels of decision-making fail to bring those in power to

decisions that are just, we refuse to compromise our values; we put our bodies on the line until

our demands are met.

This is what divestment campaigns across the country are preparing for, and inviting students to

do: to take a pledge to engage in nonviolent direct action this spring until their administrations

choose to divest. Pledge to act on divestment with us this Spring. To change everything, we

need everybody.

However, we are not just escalating for divestment; we are escalating for a broader commitment

to a just and sustainable future. This includes democratization of the university by inclusion of

stakeholders in decisions about our investments, including in making sure that the $1 billion

reinvested is invested in the kind of solutions we want to see: in sustainable projects that are

community-led and justice-oriented, rather than the greenwashing the fossil fuel industry touts

as its commitment to sustainability.

We know that the university will ultimately divest. Its financial advisors must know that it just

doesn’t make financial sense to keep investing in companies whose net worth is based on a

mirage of promised wealth. When the university does divest, though, it won’t be the financial

impact of moving its assets in the fossil fuel industry that makes the most difference. It will be

the statement, loud and clear, that the Regents choose to work for the futures of their students

and the betterment of society, instead of working for the industry.

CU Boulder students rally en masse for Global Divestment Day!

Tufts Climate Action visited President Monaco’s house with a Valentine telling him to break up with the fossil fuel industry

DivestNOW! Cornell had students sign wind turbines and get hot cocoa on a cold day.

American University students demand divests from the AU trustees.

Divest Davidson covered sculptures on campus with oil and gas corporation logos

The University of Washington held a mock wedding between the University of Washington and the Fossil Fuel Industry

An art display at Northwestern University

Divest Smith Colleges asks President McCartney to be their valentine and break up with fossil fuels.

Divest Portland State students gather for Global Divestment Day

Students at UC Santa Barbara called upon the UC chancellor and Regents to support their students and our futures against the fossil fuel industry.

Eloise Brown, a powerful Navajo grassroots fighter, speaks on the UCLA campus.

SFSU students deliver a valentine to their President Wong’s office

Denver University students call on Chancellor Chopp to take a stand and divest DU from fossil fuels.

Fossil Free NAU stands on the right side of history during their Divestival!

University of Utah students rally together to demand divestment

Fossil Free Stevens Point holds a night vigil

Divest Carleton partners with the Climate Justice Coalition for Global Divestment Day

University of Minnesota students rallied together and marched into a U of M Board of Regents meeting

Hundreds of Bowdoin students came out to the climate speech and meeting in the union.

Students at Barnard Columbia joined with students from Fossil Free NYU and other universities from around NYC to ask Wall Street: “Which side are you on? Are you financing the problem or the solution?”

Students at Denver University rally on Global Divest Day!

This blog was written by Erin Smith, a student leader on the Divest DU campaign.

On Thursday, February 12th, Divest DU held a very successful semester kick-off event for Global Divestment Day. Over 100 students stopped by to learn more about Divestment and the movement, as well as to share their thoughts and hopes for the future of our institution. Nearly 70 separate students took part in the photo petition, and even more signed their names on our digital petition. Both petitions call on the University of Denver to divest from fossil fuels and explicitly demonstrate student support for the movement. Our digital petition has been signed by over 1,000 students thus far. We were very pleased with the turnout, and are excited to build on this momentum with larger and more active events in the coming months.

Divest DU’s campaign began in January of 2014 and hosted a number of events in the winter and spring. However, because many members of Divest DU were abroad in the fall, Divest DU has been working more behind the scenes this year. This event marks a change in this strategy by reconnecting with the student body. There will certainly be additional and larger events occurring in the upcoming months. In addition to upcoming events representing student solidarity on the issue, we plan to have continued meetings with Chancellor Chopp as well as pursue additional meetings with the Board of Trustees.

Overall, we believe that it is irresponsible and unacceptable for a University with the vision of being a “great private institution dedicated to the public good” to be invested in fossil fuel companies, and believe DU’s actions and words are irreconcilable. Therefore, we believe it is DU’s duty to its students, community, and world as a whole to support ethical and responsible investments. By taking action now, DU can once again emerge as a leader in sustainability in both Colorado and the U.S.

Last week, things got seismic when Fossil Free CU shook up the South West Divestment Scene. On Wednesday, November 19th, the three campus campaigns, made statements pressing, yet again, for the University of Colorado Board of Regents to divest the over $27 million endowment funds from fossil fuel industry shareholdings. University of Colorado Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder Fossil Free CU students and faculty members, backed by over 70 supporters present, called on the Regents for a meeting with the full board and all three campuses before the next Board of Regents meeting in February.

During the open comment section of the meeting, Fossil Free CU reps and faculty supporters made statements calling for the regents to cease their inaction and take responsible steps for investing in a healthier climate. These statements were returned, and even interrupted by the Board with heated comments, seen here in the Daily Camera’s coverage of the meeting. As seen from the comments made Wednesday, some board members are actively protecting the interests of the fossil fuel industry.

Regent Jim Geddes, R-Sedalia, stated that he knew of 1300 scientists who deny Climate Change being a real phenomena and that the Earth is entering a cooling cycle. Geddes cited his sources for climate change denial with the statement “Oh, I read things on the Internet a lot.” With over 97% of the scientific world agreeing that global climate change is happening and attention and action, we recommend Regent Geddes to do some more research. He’d likely get a failing grade on a college paper.

Regent Gallegos, Republican District 3, who told the divestment campaigns to “do your homework” missed the central argument for why CU students are pushing for divestment from fossil fuels.  Campaigns have done their homework. In fact, it’s because of the history of extraction in Colorado and the havoc it has wreaked on its people, that has inspired the community to action. The boom and bust cycles of many extractive industries have ruined far too many towns, just like in Parachute in Garfield county. Towns like Parachute saw a boom in their local economies due to rapid development from the industry, only to see a bust after the land dried up. This all too common narrative in Colorado also drives the environmental degradation– which negatively impacts ecosystems, ecosystems that humans depend on for clean air, water and land.

Regent Sharkey, R-Castle Rock, also missed the big-picture when she questioned students about how they traveled to the Regents meeting that day. Instead of acknowledging that a dozen students traveled 1-2 hours to meet with them to talk about systemic change, she pushed students to think about their ride to the Springs. The global divestment movement is understands the importance of individual actions, but more importantly hopes to challenge institutions to think about the changes that can be made on a larger scale. The University of Colorado as an educational system committed to educating young people in building a better future needs to truly stand behind that mission by divesting from industries that do not support that vision.

The kind of change that’s needed is as big and urgent as the problem we face. Sharkey’s argument fails to recognize how our education and political system is married to fossil fuels and quite literally forces us to be complacent in this system–unless we build something new.  Sharkey also fails to recognize the current violence that takes place during fossil fuel extraction. From forced migration of indigenous people in Northern Arizona due to Peabody Coal, mountaintop removal in Appalachia, to fracking in Colorado, we know that the extraction industry is reckless and dangerous. This is a moral and ethical issue that stretches far beyond the typical frame of climate change. It is an issue that serves to directly confront an industry that has been immune from any consequences and put a stranglehold on our democracy.

Regent-at-Large, Democrat Stephen Ludwig took offense when students and faculty members called the industry immoral. But the fact is, if it’s wrong to wreck the planet, then it’s wrong to profit from that wreckage.

Regent Sharkey stated “These students have the ability to become leaders, the ability to make change, and they also have the ability to take responsibility for their future. We, the Board of Regents, will not change this dialogue. But they will. To put the responsibility onto the leadership of this university and to treat [the students] like children, it’s up to us to take care of their future, I think that’s discrediting them and us.” Taking leadership on this issue is exactly what students, faculty and staff at the 3 CU schools are doing,.. yet the campaign demands are being ignored.Therefore, the campuses will continue to build power and support by fostering relationships across the CU system with faculty, staff, the greater communities of Boulder, Denver, and Colorado Springs and with campaigns across the nation. With more resistance from the administration, Fossil Free CU will only grow stronger. Students, faculty and staff will continue organizing until the school joins us to stand on the right side of history.

Pat Brewer is a Junior studying Environmental Studies at the University of Arizona and he is also the Media Coordinator with Divest UA.

This last fall, I attended a regional Divestment Student Network training in Boulder, Colorado and was impressed by the passion and diversity of the attendees. I’ve been told that mine is a generation of slacked jaws and short attention spans, but these focused, involved organizers stand in stark defiance of that claim. They spoke frequently of their fire and their motivation for involvement in the divestment movement. I remain surprised by the palpable fervor with which they spoke on a variety of topics ranging from climate change to gender equality and preserving the rights of indigenous peoples around the world. I find their commitment to equality and social justice admirable, but my interest in divestment comes from a different place. In my studies, I work closely with climate scientists deeply entrenched in the world of sustainability. They’ve permanently altered not only my academic pursuits, but also forced me to take a critical look at the influence that individuals can have on global issues. This is where my interest in divestment stems from: this is my hope.

Our established societal norm of excessive and unsustainable consumption can never be rectified until we recognize that it is inherently flawed. We implore that our institutions, along with their thousands of students and countless supporters, recognize that immediate action must be taken to mitigate the potentially irreparable harm we’re causing.
Today, we stand on the brink of a vastly different world. At our current rate of greenhouse gas emissions, even with recent pledges to cut back, the world will see temperatures rising as much as four to five degrees centigrade across the board. Agricultural systems will fail, sea levels will rise, and essential climatic systems like jet streams and ocean gyres could be dramatically upset. Rather than accepting this bleak future, a new wave of students, scientists, and activists have committed to doing the things that Americans do best: innovate and adapt.

My generation of “deluded narcissists” knows that the old norms are dying. When will yours?

Vignesh: So, the anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan just passed…may I ask you some questions about it?

Maria: Well, back home we called it Typhoon Yolanda. Sure, go ahead.

Did you see the typhoon?

I was studying Hong Kong at the time and the place where I live was also not directly affected by the typhoon. But I still saw the devastating effects of the typhoon… I live in one of the SOS Children’s Villages, an NGO that runs nine other alternate family houses across the Philippines. There was one Village that was directly in the path of the typhoon, and it was completely destroyed. I think I can find some pictures of that orphanage after the typhoon.

SOS Children’s Village after Typhoon Haiyan.

Children at SOS Children’s Village after Typhoon Haiyan.

Wow, that looks awful…Are those children okay?

Yeah, most of them. They were relocated to a different Village nearby

What do you think will happen when the next typhoon comes around?

Every year we have typhoons and nobody learns from it. Nobody learns from the mistakes they made the previous year, and it leads to the same tragedies the next year. Because of climate change we can expect more and more typhoons and if we can’t learn from our mistakes, the casualties will be greater every year.

I agree. That sounds intense… With the expectation of more frequent and more intense storms, what do you think should be done here at Middlebury?

See, there are things that we do every day like composting and recycling that, in a way, can help stop climate change from the bottom. However, divestment attacks climate change from the top of the system, attacking the financial prowess of the fossil fuel companies and letting change trickle down from there. That’s why the fossil fuel companies are afraid of the power of the divestment movement. It worked in the past and it has the possibility to work again.

I still think making individual change is important, but in order for real change to happen, it has to happen from the top.

Sometimes, I think its hard for people in the United States to think of climate change as a serious issue because we never see the effects. Thoughts on that?

The people who don’t believe in climate change are the biggest blow to our situation on the front lines of climate change. If they want to see climate change, they can come visit me in the Philippines.

Maria Celes Lasaca Abragan, Middlebury College ‘18

Photo via 350 Massachusetts, taken by Pia Ward

Dear friends,

As many of you know, a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri decided this week that police officer Darren Wilson will not be tried for shooting and the killing Michael Brown. People have taken to the streets in over 170 cities in the past few days to protest this decision and the judicial system that produces decisions like this one all too often.

The Coordinating Committee of the DSN condemns this decision. We do not believe that justice has been served in this case. Recent events highlight the broader failure of the judicial system to protect and serve black and brown communities in this country. We are saddened, we are angry and we are committed to working for racial justice now and for the rest of our lives.

Deirdre Smith, from 350.org, wrote an article called “Why the Climate Movement Must Stand with Ferguson” this summer. In case you didn’t read it, it’s more relevant than ever. And if you did, read it again. From Deirdre’s piece:

As James Baldwin expressed, “if they come for you in the morning, they will come for us at night.” But solidarity and allyship is important in and of itself. The fossil fuel industry would love to see us siloed into believing that we can each win by ourselves on “single issues.” Now it’s time for the climate movement to show up– to show that we will not stand for the “otherizing” of the black community here in America, or anyone else.

We fight climate change because we understand this work to be critical, but fighting the many other manifestations of injustice in our society is equally critical. We understand that there are issues affecting communities like Michael Brown’s that cannot wait. Stopping climate change means addressing the root causes of the crisis, which are the same systems and industries that exploit black communities. Fighting for a viable future means also fighting for a just society. To create the world we envision, we need not only an end to fossil fuel extraction and climate change, but also an end to racism and violence against communities. We hope to find ways to shift our movement’s often passive racial justice politic into active engagement in racial justice work. If we do nothing about the systemic racism that allows Darren Wilson to avoid a trial altogether, our nation’s history of past and present injustice becomes our legacy.

It’s inspiring to see leaders from our movement taking action. Salish from Reed College attended protests this week, saying, “In Portland I stood in solidarity with Ferguson because systemic racism and police brutality protect a corporate state that should be protecting the people. As a white divestment organizer I realize that racial justice and climate organizing are often at odds. I want to work towards a world where the divestment movement practices real solidarity in dismantling white supremacy.” We have not yet figured out how to do this work, but we are going to try.

Organizers in Ferguson are calling for continued actions. On Monday, students will be staging walkouts on campus at 12:01pm CDT (1:01pm EDT, 10:01am PDT), the time that Michael Brown was murdered. See if students on your campus will be staging a walkout, and join in. And please share widely on social media using #HandsUpWalkOut. Click here for an image to share.

We will be sending out materials for hosting conversations about Ferguson, white supremacy, and our movement, so keep checking your email. We think having these conversations in our movement is critical to being in solidarity with the fight in Ferguson; so we are happy to support campuses in making these conversations happen.

We’d like to close with this quote from bell hooks: “The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. That action is the testimony of love as the practice of freedom.” We choose to love because these issues are heavy, scary, and real, and we have to support each other throughout all of it to make transformative organizing happen. We believe that collective liberation is possible.

In love and solidarity,

The Coordinating Committee of the DSN
Greta, Jess, Lex, Kate, Varshini, Marli, Will, and Dylan