{"id":6603,"date":"2013-11-09T08:14:38","date_gmt":"2013-11-09T13:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=6603"},"modified":"2013-11-09T08:19:25","modified_gmt":"2013-11-09T13:19:25","slug":"save-fossil-fuel-divestment-on-spectator-front-page-twice-in-two-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/11\/save-fossil-fuel-divestment-on-spectator-front-page-twice-in-two-weeks.html","title":{"rendered":"SAVE fossil fuel divestment on Spectator front page twice in two weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\r\nWinning PR by losing initial decisions:\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/2201154102\/\">SAVE<\/a>&#8216;s doing it right.\r\n<p>\r\nWill Lewis write for The Spectator yesterday,\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vsuspectator.com\/2013\/11\/07\/save-fails-to-persuade-foundation\/\">\r\nSAVE fails to persuade Foundation<\/a>,\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/11\/your-well-intentioned-request-is-impractical-vsu-foundation.html\">\r\n&ldquo;Compliance with your well-intentioned request is impractical<\/a>\r\nfor a number of reasons and perhaps even a breach of the fiduciary\r\nresponsibility that all of our trustees take very seriously,&rdquo;\r\nthe refusal read.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nHere&#8217;s\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/11\/display-the-kind-of-responsibility-that-will-benefit-our-university-community-region-and-world-s-a-v-e-to-vsu-foundation.html\">SAVE&#8217;s request<\/a>,\r\nand here&#8217;s SAVE&#8217;s president&#8217;s comment:\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/danielle.jordan?fref=ts\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;width:160px\" src=\"https:\/\/fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net\/hprofile-ak-ash3\/c0.25.408.408\/s320x320\/574552_10151858404692902_1847164337_n.jpg\"><\/a>\r\nDanielle Jordan, senior anthropology major and president of SAVE,\r\nsaid, &ldquo;There&#8217;s a lot of disappointment but we are not going to\r\nstop, we don&#8217;t see this as the end of our campaign. It lets us know\r\nwhere we stand with the Board of Trustees.&rdquo;\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nThe VSU Foundation&#8217;s Investment Objectives in the\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.valdosta.edu\/administration\/advancement\/vsu-foundation\/documents\/investment-policy-and-guideline.pdf\">\r\nInvestment Policy and Guidelines<\/a>\r\nstates that &ldquo;Foundation funds should be\r\ninvested to produce maximum total return consistent with prudent\r\nrisk limits.&rdquo;\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nOn the other hand, the\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.valdosta.edu\/administration\/advancement\/vsu-foundation\/documents\/trustee-handbook.pdf\">\r\nVSU Trustee Handbook<\/a>\r\nsays the Mission Statement of the VSU Foundation is:<!--more-->\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nThe Foundation exists to support the development of educational\r\nexcellence at Valdosta State University. It does so by attracting\r\nand involving leaders from among the University&#8217;s alumni and friends\r\nin this endeavor. The Foundation&#8217;s primary efforts shall be directed\r\ntoward attracting, receiving, investing, managing, and expending\r\ngifts and other resources designated for the educational programs of\r\nthe University.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nAnd on the same page:\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<ol start=\"3\">\r\n<li>\r\nStewardship\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>\r\nTo provide an attractive vehicle for donors to use to support the Univer\r\nsity.\r\n<li>\r\nTo maintain a relationship with the University which inspires the confidence of\r\nfaculty, staff, students, and administration.\r\n<li>\r\nTo invest the endowments held in trust for the University to achieve returns\r\namong the best in the country for endowments\r\nof similar size.\r\n<li>\r\nTo invest the Foundation\u2019s resources in consultation with the University to take\r\nadvantage of unusual opportunities to advance the University when these\r\nopportunities would not otherwise be available to the University. \r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/10\/solar-vs-fossil-fuel-stocks.html\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3831\/10191122464_a6dab95a3b_n.jpg\"><\/a>\r\nStudents are offering an unusual opportunity to advance the university\r\nby divesting from toxic stocks and investing in renewable energy that\r\nwill produce better returns.\r\nHow is sneering at that (and at science), as the VSU Foundation just did,\r\nmaintaining a relationship with students or providing an attractive\r\nvehicle for donors to use to support the University?\r\n<p>\r\nOr faculty.\r\nWe&#8217;ve already seen\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/11\/divesting-from-oil-and-gas-prof-matthew-richard.html\">\r\nDr. Matthew Richard&#8217;s response<\/a> (&#8220;Only by demanding corporate accountability and responsibility can we safeguard public health and allow our fragile planet begin to heal itself.&#8221;).\r\n<p>\r\nHere&#8217;s another, quoted in The Spectator article:\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\n&ldquo;They made the decision very hastily, without directly\r\ninterviewing the students who made this request,&rdquo; Dr. Bradley\r\nBergstrom, biology professor, said. &ldquo;That, alone, suggests\r\nthey did not take the request seriously, and the unfortunate\r\ndecision by the Board chairman to insult the students&#8217; efforts with\r\na sarcastic letter belies the personal bias of the letter writer and\r\nshows his contempt for their genuine concerns, which happen to be\r\nshared by many of the faculty at VSU.&rdquo;\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nAnd another:\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nDr. Michael Noll, professor of geosciences, disagrees with the idea\r\nthat fiduciary and environmental responsibilities are mutually\r\nexclusive.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nThe Spectator included a few quotes from Dr. Noll;\r\nhere&#8217;s\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/119560808079273\/591923870842962\/\">\r\nthe full statement he sent them<\/a> that they excerpted:\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nReflections on the BOT Response to SAVE\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nThe response by VSU&#8217;s Board of Trustees (BOT) to SAVE&#8217;s divestment\r\ncampaign is mindboggling. It suggests the board believes it knows\r\nmore about global climate change than climatologists do, who have\r\nstudied this phenomenon for decades. If more than 95% of all\r\nscientists agree that global warming is real and mainly caused by\r\nhuman activity, it is time to wake up.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nThe BOT also seems in such a hurry to respond to SAVE&#8217;s request to\r\ndivest from fossil fuels that its members do not take the time to\r\nwait until after a panel has taken place at VSU, focusing on the\r\nvery issue. Such reactionary behavior speaks to a lack of thorough\r\nresearch which, for all practical purposes, acts as an obstacle to\r\ndeveloping a portfolio that can be both profitable as well as\r\nsocially and environmentally responsible. Still, I have difficulties\r\nto believe that even the most conservative BOT members prefer to\r\ninvest in stocks connected with, say, an Apartheid-like regime or\r\nthe fracking industry, if better alternatives are available.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nFiduciary responsibility and social and environmental\r\nresponsibilities do not have to contradict each other. A recently\r\npublished article by Forbes Magazine and indices like the S&#038;P 500\r\nshow that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/lauraheller\/2013\/07\/30\/publix-the-walmart-slayer-wins-another-round-with-low-prices\/\">\r\ncompanies like Publix are doing better than Wal-Mart<\/a>, and\r\nthat the solar industry creates better returns than the coal\r\nindustry, a simple fact that was also recently pointed out by my\r\ncolleague Dr. Matthew Richard. Interestingly enough, even companies\r\nlike Wal-Mart invest heavily in solar, although they have yet to\r\ninvest in their own people. But we will get there, one step at the\r\ntime, provided that we dare to educate ourselves, reevaluate old\r\nparadigms, and develop new strategies that benefit all of us,\r\nincluding the environment we live in.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nDr. Michael G. Noll\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nGeosciences\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nHow about some stewardship, VSU Foundation?\r\n<p>\r\nHere&#8217;s another chance, with\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/446253518813912\/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular\">facebook invitation<\/a>:\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/446253518813912\/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;width:250px\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net\/hphotos-prn1\/945472_10151958305822902_1893454364_n.jpg\"><\/a>\r\n<p>\r\nJordan said SAVE will host a panel discussion Nov. 12 about climate\r\nchange and the divestment strategy.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nThe panel will be held in the Powell Hall Auditorium.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nWill anybody from the VSU Foundation bother to show up?\r\n<p>\r\n -jsq\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Winning PR by losing initial decisions: SAVE&#8216;s doing it right. Will Lewis write for The Spectator yesterday, SAVE fails to persuade Foundation, &ldquo;Compliance with your well-intentioned request is impractical for a number of reasons and perhaps even a breach of the fiduciary responsibility that all of our trustees take very seriously,&rdquo; the refusal read. Here&#8217;s [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[97,15,4468,134,3454],"tags":[8736,4469,6978,1003,8705,8701,8702,12,7,1174,703,8883,4705,6,8743,7183,8874],"class_list":["post-6603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-education","category-save","category-vsu","category-vsu-spectator","tag-activism","tag-brad-bergstrom","tag-danielle-jordan","tag-divestment","tag-education","tag-georgia","tag-lake","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-matthew-richard","tag-michael-noll","tag-save","tag-students-against-violating-the-environment","tag-valdosta","tag-vsu","tag-vsu-foundation","tag-vsu-spectator"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-1Iv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6603"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6609,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6603\/revisions\/6609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}