Dear Divesters, We hope you’ve all had a fun and fulfilling summer and are reenergized for the upcoming semester! I’d like to start off with some very encouraging news. Over the summer, our group met with the Senior Vice President of Finances, Dr. Michael Gower, and the Board of Governors/Board of Trustees Joint Committee on Investments Chair, Tilak Lal. Dr. Gower was able to provide us with a picture of how we are invested in fossil fuels; we now know we are directly invested in three oil and gas companies, and zero coal companies. Lal is very interested in pursuing divestment if it can be done in a way that will not hurt the endowment. Together, we are actively researching what options we have to make divestment feasible. While the decision is not his alone to make, having him as an ally is an exciting step in the right direction. We are only in this position because of the support of all of you. The hours spent tabling, petitioning, and rallying have gotten the attention of our administration. And while divestment is a simple, sensible argument, the power does not lie in its rhetoric, but in its support from the Rutgers community. From our team, the warmest and sincerest thank you. With that in mind, we must move forward and continue to fight. The next step a future that is not defined by climate chaos is the People’s Climate March. As many of you have heard, hundreds of thousands of people will be converging in New York City on September 21st and marching in order to demand real climate action. We need to see you there. Climate change is being caused by our actions as a society, and it is of the direst importance that we show that now is the time for climate action. We, along with organizations throughout Rutgers, are working to bring students and members of the Rutgers Community to the Peoples Climate March. We will be taking the train from New Brunswick into Penn Station, and subsidies will be available for those who would otherwise not be able to attend the march. We are aiming to subsidize seats to about $8 round trip into the city. If you would like to attend the march with the Rutgers family, please fill out this form and hit attending on our facebook event. https://docs.google/forms/d/1SyKZCstk6ddOCQiB4DhbrRj6ub5hEi-Nf2gvqgVPYcs https://facebook/events/271880446351674/ More information on the march can be found on its website here. peoplesclimate.org Leading up to the March, an event will be held at the Reformed Church, 19-21 South 2nd Avenue in Highland Park on Saturday, September 6th, at 7:30 pm. The event is titled Climate Change: A Discussion of How to Respond. Alan Robock, a Distinguished Professor of Rutgers and a lead author on the IPCC’s 5th Assessment will be speaking, along with our very own Sid Madison, and poetry will also be preformed by Sam Friedman. We hope to see you there! We are extremely excited for an empowering, active semester and we can’t wait to see you alongside. In solidarity, Shane Patel
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 17:03:12 +0000
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