On a damp day in April, I remember waking up to the Noon Rally in front of the Student Union at UMass Amherst. Students from all backgrounds and all majors gathered holding orange and black signs, symbolizing divestment. Singing songs of encouragement we chanted, demanding that the university divest from fossil fuels. We showed the moral imperative to take action against the destructive fossil fuel industry. Together we marched from the Student Union across campus to the Whitmore Administration Building where over 30 students were sitting in.
A few weeks prior to this first day of action I was with the Student Government Association and members of the UMass Community at the Public Higher Education Advocacy Day. At the UMass Club following our advocacy on Beacon Hill I had the opportunity to speak with a member of the Board of Trustees, who seemed unconcerned about climate change and expressed doubt that divestment could have an impact on it anyway. Leaving Boston I felt like leadership just wanted continuity of business as usual.
Fast forward to April, after the first day of the sit in, I worked with some of my fellow Senators in the Student Government Association to draft a resolution in support of the UMass Divest sit in and their goal of divestment. The motion passed almost unanimously with one opposed. Within the next two days, I was in the middle of all of the action. Time in between classes was spent sitting silently in Whitmore, calling and tweeting President Meehan’s Office and recruiting more friends and fellow students to participate. The group of 30 students on the first day grew to over 250 students, faculty and community members. 34 students over the course of the sit in were arrested for trespassing after refusing to leave the building. We received endorsements from departments across campus, state politicians, and environmental groups. People were watching our live stream on Facebook and tweeting at us from around the world. Presidential candidate for the Green Party, Jill Stein even came to a rally at Whitmore. It truly was an important demonstration of student power.
As we got word this past week that University of Massachusetts System is the first major public university to divest from fossil fuels, I have a strong belief that this message will resonate with the climate movement not only here in the Commonwealth, but around the country and around this planet. We have persuaded leaders like President Marty Meehan to be stronger leaders in this great fight to create a more healthy and sustainable world.
Robert Kearns is a Student studying Environmental Science and is a Student Government Association Senator at UMass Amherst. He also is an Intern for us here at Sierra Club and involved in sustainability initiatives in his community.