SGA votes to support fossil fuel divestment

The Student Government Association (SGA) passed a fossil fuel divestment resolution, an entrepreneurship funding bill, a bylaws amendment for student groups, and the FIJI Islander funding bill at its weekly meeting in Charles Commons on Tuesday.

Sophomore Class Senator AJ Tsang sponsored a bill that would urge the University to follow the student group  Refuel Our Future’s formal proposal to divest from fossil fuel companies. The bill passed by a vote of 21 to zero with no abstentions.

In the bill, the SGA encourages the board of trustees and the Public Interest Investment Advisory Committee (PIIAC) to act on Refuel Our Future’s recommendations outlined in the divestment proposal. The bill also urges the University to follow through on its plans to hold a public forum on divestment as mentioned in the December meeting minutes, in accordance with Refuel Our Future’s proposal.

Some SGA members suggested that they amend the bill to push for renewable energy investment instead of fossil fuel divestment.

“I am voting no because I don’t like the divestment idea. I like investment in renewable energy,” Junior Class President Sarah Zappone said. “I think it’s naive to think that, as terrible and harmful fossil fuels are on our environment, that it would be nothing like how we live right now without them. I think that it’s much more impactful to make a statement of investing, not divesting.”

Senior Class President Syed Hossain agreed.

“I’m also going to vote no. Like [Zappone], I believe in investment. And also, you guys can judge me for this, but the U.S. is entering a phase of expansion and growth, and the commodities industry is directly impacted by this. So if the school’s investing, that’d be good returns for the school,” he said.

Zappone’s motion to change divestment from fossil fuels to investment in renewable energy failed.

Junior Class Senator Pepe Muniz emphasized that the SGA should stand with the ongoing divestment campaign.

“I think the point of this resolution is to support the divestment proposal,” Muniz said. “I think it’d be a little inappropriate for us to start changing their recommendations in that proposal because that’s something that’s already been made. So it’s either support that or don’t.”

Freshman Class President Anthony Boutros strongly urged SGA to pass the resolution.

“We should use our force as a body, in all its power, to challenge our University to follow its principles,” Boutros said.

The bill to provide funding to the Three-Day Startup Entrepreneurship Program, which aims to provide funding for a three-day entrepreneurship and innovation event, also passed unanimously. This initiative was part of Executive Vice President Anna Du’s mission to increase the opportunities for undergraduate entrepreneurship and innovation on campus.

Muniz also proposed a bylaws amendment for student groups that would institute a yearly review of every student group’s operations to determine each group’s annual funding from the SGA’s Student Activities Committee (SAC). The amendment also passed unanimously.

Senior Class Senator Ope Olukorede disagreed with the aims of the amendment.

“So now you’re saying that groups that have already been approved are going to come back and you’re going to disapprove them? I don’t really think that’s fair,” she said.

Muniz countered that because SGA provides student groups’ funding.

“It’s not crazy to say that once a year we’re going to check up on what you’re doing with that money,” he said.

Senior Class Senator Adelaide Morphett sponsored the FIJI Islander funding bill, which passed by a unanimous vote. The bill states that the SGA would fund $1,000 to hire ten security guards for the annual FIJI Islander during homecoming, with all proceeds going towards ovarian cancer research.

Muniz objected to the bill. He stated that since attendees must be above the legal drinking age, the event excluded a large portion of the student body.

“If we’re giving $1,000 to an event, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that all 5,000 students could go,” Muniz said. “I stand by how uncomfortable it makes me to fund an event that two-thirds of the people in the room can’t attend.”

Senior Class Senator Jonathan Brown disagreed because he felt that it was logical for SGA to pay for security so that the event will be well monitored even with the alcohol.

“I think that it’s still a great event that’s going towards a great cause,” he said.

Next week, the SGA plans to discuss a student disabilities bill sponsored by Boutros and an initiative to increase school spirit that is spearheaded by Freshman Class Senator Rushabh Doshi.