About 60 Mount A students and others marched to the University’s administrative building on Friday September 23 to demand the school divest its endowments from fossil fuel companies, and to take a leadership role to address the climate crisis.
CHMA stopped by to listen in on the protest:
Organizer Kate DesRoches told the crowd that Divest MTA has been asking the university to de-fossilize its endowment fund since 2013. “It would have been quite radical for Mount A to have divested when we first started asking them,” said DesRoches, “but now it’s not even close to that anymore.” DesRoches cited a number of schools such as Harvard, UBC and Lakehead University, which have gone through with divestment. “This is not even an opportunity to be a climate leader,” said DesRoches. “Now this is an opportunity for a meager attempt to catch up.”
Student Chloe Robichaud took the opportunity to speak to her fellow protesters: “I’m over here going to university and actively investing in my future. Yet I’m attending an institution that’s actively investing in the end of my future,” said Robichaud. “Nothing’s more embarrassing than going to a school that claims to be a school of leaders, yet we can’t even lead in environmental policies.”
According to Divest MTA, this past spring the university’s board of regents promised to study options for divestment from fossil fuels. Members of the student collective have yet to meet with university officials this fall for an update.
Read more about Divest MTA:
‘There’s still so much that we’re not doing’: Divest MTA leads climate protest Friday
Mount A’s new investor network is not an alternative to divestment, says Divest MtA
https://www.chmafm.com/welcome/students-renew-call-for-mount-a-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels-ahead-of-climate-strike/