Precious Free Oxy members propose divestment plan to Board of Trustees

Precious Free Oxy members propose divestment plan to Board of Trustees

Charlotte now UmanoffApril 28, 2015Filed under News flashes, On campus, Top Stories

Four members of Fossil iPhone case Free Oxy met with members of the Board to do with Trustees' investment committee April 20 to present a formal proposal for the organization's fossil fuel divestment campaign.

Precious Free Oxy member Julia Kingsley (senior) said the divestment campaign's demand for the college is a large a person: divesting from companies that take out, pull - remove FOSSIL iPhone 5 fuels from the earth (coal, gas, natural gas, oil) and reinvesting in sustainable industries. The migration originated from the Urban and Environment Policy community organizing and kepemimpinan class in Fall 2013.

To Occidental, the current goals of Precious Free Oxy are attempting to increase trainee awareness and support for divestment, showing the campus's commitment in order to really environmental justice and emphasizing the requirement of divestment to the Board, according to Precious Free Oxy member Linnea Propp-Pearson (sophomore).

"Oxy students really are engaging in everything they can to make the campus more invironmentally friendly, " Propp-Pearson said. "This could be next step we need to take to join an even bigger movement and make a bigger nationwide and in addition worldwide change. "

Although it ended up being their first meeting with representatives on the Board of Trustees, members to do with Fossil Free Oxy felt the most important presentation was well-received and started off on an important dialogue.

"We had a especially productive conversation, and it was clearly a back-and-forth, " Kingsley understood.

The feelings of progress after the profile presentation were mutual, according to Chris Varelas '85, Board member and front of the investment committee.

"Regardless inside outcome of this specific proposal regarding divestment, the challenge by Fossil Free Oxy to the whole Oxy community to behave and to advocate responsible actions to exchange the arc of environmental take a chance on is a challenge which the trustees intend to fully grasp, " Varelas said via email me.

Fossil Free Oxy member Tsering Lama (senior) debunked some of the fables about divestment and environmentalism that make some students hesitant to join what causes it. One concern, he said, could be potential negative effect on scholarship and in addition financial aid resources. While divesting methods a significant risk in this regard, Lama noticed the increasing attractiveness of "socially responsible" funds.

"There are plenty of reports that show that if a good solid fund is divested, there is a hugely negligible effect on the returns. It could be that 0. 01 or 0. 1%, " Lama said.

Another situation Lama addressed was the perceived homogeneity of divestment supporters.

"I are convinced that currently, campus views the divestment movement as a very white migration, " Lama said. "However, the actual truth of it is that the majority of the people afflicted by climate change are these underserved communities and minorities. The entire offshore south is going to be affected drastically. "

The group's push to divest from fossil fuels is associated with a larger movement gaining momentum having cities, universities, religious institutions and in addition corporations worldwide. The international Precious Free website cites UN Admin General Ban Ki-moon, former Archbishop Desmond Tutu and United States Us president Barack Obama as global ma?tre who have formally endorsed divestment.

In line with the international Fossil Free website, most apparent 22 American universities have divested, including Pitzer College and Stanford University. Occidental has the potential to be available as a leader in the movement, as documented in Propp-Pearson.

"We don't want to be individuals know the most, but do the the very least when it comes to divesting, " Kingsley understood.

The investment committee will reviewed the proposal in mid-May preceding to forming a recommendation to give fully Board of Trustees. Members to do with Fossil Free Oxy expressed wishes that they will make a favorable decision at their cause.

"We hope Oxy is undoubtedly on the right side of history, " Lama said.