Campaign for Divestment Moves Forward

Some key policymaking groups at the New School are encouraging the university to divest its endowment funds from businesses involved in fossil fuel extraction.

The University Student Senate, the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility and the Sustainability Coalition, comprised of various student-led environmental groups, will launch Campus Sustainability Day on October 23, at the Theresa Lang Student Center, to discuss new sustainable projects and an ongoing student campaign against fossil fuels, which are the largest source of carbon emissions contributing to climate change.

The push for universities to divest from companies involved in fossil fuel extraction has grown since the 350.org Fossil Free divestment campaign began last year, encouraging institutions to take a stand and play a positive role in solving climate change. But the movement is still relatively new, and only a handful of small institutions, like Hampshire College and Sterling College, have successfully lobbied their administrations to divest.

“If The New School were to do this,” USS Co-Chair Benjamin Silverman said, “it would be the largest university to do so by about a factor of 10.”

In order for the university to successfully divest, Silverman said that the Board of Trustees would have to pass a resolution and make a statement to their mutual fund managers, instructing them to de-invest in certain companies and vendors such as Exxon Mobile. He believes that October 23 will be an important date to push the campaign forward at the New School.

“Campus Sustainability Day is one of these necessary steps,” he said. “It’s all about putting pressure onto the Board of Trustees effectively.”

Liz Tremblay, president of the New School Sustainable Cities Club, expressed similar optimism.

“Divestment at TNS is a real possibility. We just need the students to be on board,” she said. “Making the student population aware is key to encouraging the activist in all of us.”

The event will feature guest speakers involved with other divestment efforts throughout the city and a video message from Bill Mckibben, co-founder of  the 350.org Fossil Free divestment campaign. A group of New School students will also present their own sustainability projects.

“We hope Campus Sustainability day will be a big push forward on divestment,” said Laura Merli, a Real Food Challenge Research Intern and graduate student at Milano. “The New School prides itself in being progressive and activist-minded. Through divestment, we could prove that’s more than just talk and inspire other schools to take more action on climate change.”

The event will take place on the 2nd floor of the Theresa Lang Student Center, at 55 West 13th Street, from noon to 2 p.m.

NiQyira Rajhi

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NiQyira is currently an Arts in Context major at the New School. She joined The Free Press in Fall 2013 and enjoys writing for all four of its sections. NiQyira aims to pursue a career in photo journalism, traveling while using photography and writing to explore other cultures. She would like to write for a magazine like National Geographic one day. NiQyira's hobbies include being the sweatiest girl in the gym, wandering the city with a camera, watching cartoons, writing and eating too much peanut butter.

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