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Students, Faculty Protest TIAA Fossil Fuel Investment
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On April 28, Climate Justice Cornell rallied on campus, calling for TIAA to divest from fossil fuels.
The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/fossil-fuels/)
On April 28, Climate Justice Cornell rallied on campus, calling for TIAA to divest from fossil fuels.
The divestment campaign began many semesters ago but notably gained momentum starting in the fall of 2019. CJC members reached out to faculty and students from other clubs, gaining support from a wide collection of allies ranging from Mothers Out Front, to Cornell University Sustainable Design, to the Vegan Club. CJC and other clubs held public protests nearly every week during the spring of 2020 until the campus shut down due to COVID-19. The most notable of these was a mock wedding between Cornell and the fossil fuel industry — two puppets modeled after the clocktower and a Monopoly Man-esque fossil fuel executive were paraded around Ho Plaza by students in orange beanies and oil-themed masks.
Eight Cornell faculty members signed a letter condemning the corrupt influence of fossil fuel funding used to support climate change research in universities. Released on Mar. 21, the letter is supported by many more members of the faculty.
The Board of Trustees voted Friday to institute a moratorium on new private investments focused on fossil fuels: What exactly does that mean?
The Board of Trustees voted to institute a moratorium on new private investments focused on fossil fuels, answering the requests of all five constituent assemblies.
Fossil fuel divestment is finally a hot topic. With no small thanks to the protesters who blocked roads and occupied Ho Plaza earlier this month, the movement has been ushered from the margins of campus political life into relevance. Though people may not necessarily know what ‘divestment’ means, they’ve at least heard about it, read about it or had it shouted at them. However, the job is far from done. The goal of the fossil fuel divestment movement is, obviously, to divest.
In opposition to Cornell’s ongoing investment into fossil fuels, students take to the University’s libraries to protest—in silence.
The Faculty Senate introduced a resolution to support divestment from fossil fuels at the Feb. 12 meeting.
On Tuesday, Cornell’s University Assembly moved to discuss Resolution X: Support of the Divestment of Fossil Fuels.
For the second time this semester, student groups will hold a strike for climate justice. Students will march at 11:30 a.m. this Friday on Ho Plaza in a display of frustration at what they see as the insufficient actions of leaders in the face of climate change.