Divest Amherst

03/31/2021

Today is a day for celebration! The Amherst College Board of Trustees announced this morning that it is finally taking action to divest its endowment from fossil fuels. This announcement follows a decade of efforts from student activists to push Amherst to align its endowment with the principles and scholarship of the College.

Details on Amherst's plan for divestment can be read below.

Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, and Alumni, Today I am pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees has approved the following actions with respect to the College’s management of the Amherst endowment: Make no new investments in public or private equity fossil fuel investment funds. Phase out the...

11/29/2016

Heyo!!! Divest Amherst and the Green Amherst Project are collaborating with the Sugar Shack Alliance and Climate Action Now, two local environmental groups, to host a Non-Violent Direct Action training on Sat. Dec. 10. The training will be held in O'Connor Commons from 9:30am to 5:30pm. The training teaches you the tenets of nonviolence, civil disobedience, and consensus leadership. It will take you through role plays and discussions of the legal system to prepare you to participate in pipeline protests. While the training specifically focuses on environmental activism, its lessons can be applied to any issue.

Space is limited! Sign up on this form by Dec. 7 to attend:
https://docs.google.com/a/amherst.edu/forms/d/1rf5imPslVoK_CgXGRa4loxOV8Km1MhBKU-lk40KdMP4/edit?ts=58305285

09/22/2016

Back at it with a great meeting in James last night! And if you're wondering where our campaign left off last semester, check out this awesome article by Rojas Oliva '19 in the Amherst Disorientation Guide: https://amherstdisorientation.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/business-as-usual/

05/26/2016

Exciting update from UMass!

BOSTON — The University of Massachusetts Foundation board of directors voted Wednesday to pull the university’s direct investments in fossil fuel companies, according to UMass officials. The decision makes UMass one of the first public universities in...

05/05/2016

More Endorsements! A statement from Massachusetts Senator Ben Downing (D - Pittsfield) who represents Amherst in the senate:

I support the students from Amherst College Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign’s goal of divesting the Amherst College endowment from the fossil fuel industry. I share their concerns with the contributions entities throughout the Commonwealth may be inadvertently making to global climate change. To that end, I have sponsored legislation that directs the Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board to cease new investments in fossil fuel-based companies and to divest the public Fund of all fossil fuel holdings within five years.

I applaud the spirit of the students pushing Amherst to join the growing number of colleges, cities and towns, numerous faith and activist organizations, and other institutional investors across the nation that have already heeded President Obama’s call to “invest. Divest. Remind folks there’s no contradiction between a sound environment and strong economic growth”.

I firmly believe divestment can and should be achieved statewide. We can safeguard our environment for future generations while ensuring the financial well-being of our public universities and pension systems.

05/05/2016

AWESOME NEWS FOR DIVEST AMHERST TONIGHT!!!! As of just a few hours ago the town of Amherst voted to endorse Amherst College Divestment.
The vote was as follows:
Yes: 115
No: 16
We are so excited to stand in solidarity with our allies in the Amherst community and we hope that this will serve as additional encouragement for the Board to reconsider their current position.

The student body overwhelmingly supports divestment, as does the town of Amherst. When will Amherst's administration honor the wishes of its community, and join schools like Hampshire and UMass in taking real steps to protect the futures of its students and the planet?

04/07/2016

Thank you to all who voted in the Divestment Survey!
The results have been posted on Amherst College's website, linked below.
Approximately 35% of the student body voted, and of those votes nearly 73% voted in favor of divestment. It's awesome to see such support among the student body.

https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/aas/surveys/fossil-fuel-divestment-survey?shib_redir=820652968

Fossil Fuel Divestment Survey Results Do you believe that the Amherst College Board of Trustees should divest all direct holdings of the Amherst College endowment from the fossil fuel industry? Yes 457 No 170

04/03/2016

Calling all Amherst College students!!!
Help us make a statement to the Board of Trustees, the President, the faculty, and the rest of the Amherst community about divesting from fossil fuels.

Follow this link to answer the AAS's survey about whether the school should divest its holdings in fossil fuel companies. It's extremely important that the administration know how students feel on this matter, so it is essential that we get a lot of responses to indicate that this is an important cause amongst the student body.
It will take you less time than it took you to read this post! Go do it!!

https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/aas/surveys/fossil-fuel-divestment-survey

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03/31/2016

Women's ultimate supports divestment-- shocking, we know.

03/31/2016

Intro to Environmental Studies students support divestment.

03/31/2016

"I support divestment because I like having different seasons." -Olivia Moehl

03/31/2016

"As a respected institution of higher learning, Amherst college should support bettering the world we live in and that means divesting from fossil fuels." -Dylan Groff

Get excited for the student vote on divestment this Sunday, April 3rd, and get pumped to hear more from your fellow students who support divestment!