MADISON, WI - Over 30 students gathered today during the UW-Madison Divestment Die-In organized by the Wisconsin Student Climate Action Coalition (WSCAC) as part of Fossil Fuel Divestment Day (F2D2) organized by Divest Ed, a national divestment hub. Despite temperatures hovering around 7°F on one of the coldest days of the year, students were determined to show their support for the divestment movement. They staged a mock “die-in” outside of Bascom Hall and through the hallways to UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s office door. Demonstrators lay on the ground with signs calling for fossil fuel divestment and climate action dispersed between them. Two students held a large banner that read “WI Demand Divestment - UW profits off their investment in the fossil fuel industry, intensifying climate change and hurting those most vulnerable.” “[We are] dying to divest,” protestors shouted in unison.
The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) is an independent, non-profit organization that receives donations and makes investments, including investments in the oil and gas industry. The WFAA then transfers these donations and profits to the University. UW-Madison may not be actively directing these transactions, but it is profiting off of the injustices. Protesters at the demonstration demand the University make the moral decision and stop accepting the profits of fossil fuel investments.
“I am participating in UW’s Divestment Die-in because for 3 consecutive years I have seen the earth’s future deteriorate, while the University has done nothing of significance to acknowledge or mitigate its role in promoting the use of fossil fuels. It is time that the institutions chose to invest in the future of its students,” said Emiliana Almanza Lopez, WSCAC Advisory Board member.
UW-Madison was one of 59 campuses across the country and the world who participated in Fossil Fuel Divestment Day (F2D2). Students from various universities share disappointment with the lack of urgency and response to growing concern over climate change. As these universities delay action, climate change continues to threaten and harm vulnerable communities around the world. F2D2 occurred just days after the Canada Police conducted a raid on Wet'suwet'en land protectors peacefully blocking the construction of a pipeline. In Divest Ed’s press release, A protester at Stanford University points to the importance of standing in solidarity with frontline and indigenous communities most vulnerable to continued fossil fuel investments.
This intention aligns with WSCAC’s three main demands for the UW-Madison: climate action, climate justice, and teach the truth.
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