Swarthmore College’s board announced Saturday that the college will not sell holdings in companies in the fossil fuel industry, a move sought by a long student sit-in and endorsed by many other students and faculty members.
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Divestment is the opposite of investment – it is the removal of your investment capital from stocks, bonds or funds. The global movement for fossil fuel divestment (sometimes also called disinvestment) is asking institutions to move their money out of oil, coal and gas companies for both moral and financial reasons.
After a 32-day sit-in outside the Swarthmore College finance and investments office, a resolution of support from the faculty and a petition bearing 1,100 alumni signatures, Swarthmore Mountain Justice members were hopeful the board of managers would divest the college’s endowment of fossil fuel funds as a major step towards halting climate change.
Norway this month became an unlikely leader in a growing social movement: persuading investors to sell their stock in fossil fuel companies. In Norway’s case, its $890 billion pension fund – the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world – will begin divesting itself of its stakes in coal companies.
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Alumni Weekend 2015
Alumni came out strong for fossil fuel divestment during Alumni Weekend, and programming included a teach-in before the annual parade in front of Parrish on June 6, 2015.
Prof. Barbara Wien, the partner of a Swarthmore alum, provided these exciting videos showcasing the many alums carrying signs or wearing orange squares, who support divestment.
The students @SwarthMJ have worked longer and harder than just about anyone in climate fight. The college board is a corporatist disgrace
Today @swarthmore failed to step up to the plate, but this fight is far from over. http://bit.ly/1AuBas8 @SwarthMJ pic.twitter.com/sdcZQ5524r
The movement to push colleges and universities to divest from fossil fuels is heating up on campus. Everywhere you look, divestment sit-ins, protests, and rallies are sweeping across campuses. At Harvard this week, more than 1,000 students, alumni and professors have taken part in sit-ins, rallies and protests.
Posted: Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 1:08 AM A 32-day student sit-in at Swarthmore College ended Monday after faculty voted to support the protesters’ demands to divest endowment money out of fossil fuels.