Earlier this year, the University of Maine System Board of Trustees voted to divest all direct holdings from coal companies. The action is part of a global movement to go “fossil free,” and on Friday, Feb. 13, — Global Divestment Day — Brevard College students, faculty and staff will gather on campus to call for the school to divest itself of fossil-fuel holdings. Here’s the release:
BREVARD – Students, faculty, staff and community members will gather on Friday, Feb. 13 — Global Divestment Day — in front of Beam Administration at Brevard College to encourage college administrators to divest from fossil fuels.
“The students at BC feel called to this movement because our school is one that promotes environmental stewardship and social action; both of which divestment exemplifies,” said rally organizer and student Emily Crowley.
Colleges and universities throughout the country have made official commitments to divest from fossil fuels, according to gofossilfree.org, though educational institutions in the Southeast have been relatively quiet on the issue. Dr. James Reynolds, a professor of Geology at the college, brought the idea of divestment to faculty and students in the fall of 2013. A year later, the college’s environmental club – BC Greens – rallied support for the initiative by garnering student signatures on a petition and holding a sit-in to gain the attention of the college administration.
“We want Brevard to be the leader in the Southeast, fighting climate change and the fossil fuel industry,” Crowley said. “All movements start with students, and we want to be the students for this movement.”
Brevard College is committed to an experiential liberal arts education that encourages personal growth and inspires artistic, intellectual, and social action.
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