Pictured above: Students rally at the entrance of the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)
Within 100 hours of Donald Trump’s inauguration, in the first and largest youth-led mobilization of 2017, thousands of students across the country walked-out of class in protest of Trump and his corrupt fossil fuel billionaire cabinet. The Monday mobilization came just two days after nearly 3 million people mobilized in Women’s Marches around the world. Students on dozens of campuses demanded that their administrations resist and reject Trump’s climate denial cabinet by divesting from fossil fuels and reinvesting in solutions to the climate crisis.
The Day of Action dubbed #ResistRejectDenial marked the first action of the year for students in the University of California (UC) system as part of a pledge to take bold action until Richard Sherman, Chair of the UC Regents Committee on Investments, makes full divestment possible for the UC system. The pledge was launched by UC students last November.
“Today we join over 50 campuses walking out for divestment,” said Tyler Jacobson of UC Berkeley. “As the new administration begins their work, we continue our resistance.”
“I am here today because I can’t stand by and do nothing while others die to serve the needs of the elite few,” said Joia Fishman of UCSC.
“Our climate is like a car hurtling towards the edge of a cliff, and we need the entire world to collectively help step on the brake,” said Aya Rosenfield of UC Berkeley. “A full UC-wide divestment is the first action needed in order to add California’s weight to the fight against global warming.”
“Students across the nation took action today by walking out of their classrooms in protest of Persistent Trump’s regressive climate policy,” said UCSC’s Sam Weinstein. “UC students call on Regent Richard Sherman and the rest of the Board of Regents to address this threat by fully divesting from fossil fuels. The whole world is watching, Regent Sherman. Tick, tock.”
Shortly before Trump’s inauguration last week, Weinstein addressed:
“It is no coincidence that 2016 was the third year in a row of record high annual temperatures. The symptoms of global warming are accelerating, and we must respond accordingly; if we do not, we will hand off a deathly ill environment to yet another future generation with even less chance of preserving quality of life than we had. Climate change is the most pervasive threat to ever affect our species. Everyone on Earth, and every kingdom of living thing will feel the pressure of a changing climate. It is our duty to act. The University of California: an institution priding itself on initiatives of sustainability and producer of world leading climate research, still supports the fossil fuel industry with $2.8 billion. Just as it is the duty of our generation to lead the world through this just transition to a global sustainable standard of living, it is the duty of the UC and Regent Richard Sherman to lead with us. Beginning this Friday, January 20th, the US national government will no longer have our back. The onus is on the UC Regents to protect our wellbeing, and our future. This, above all else, is why I support and fight for fossil fuel divestment. Regent Sherman, your next move is now a matter of national importance. It is with this in mind that the UCSC community, and institutions around the country walk out of their classrooms on Monday, January 23rd.”
Students and youth have been a driving force leading the fossil fuel divestment movement to be the mainstream global movement it is today, with over 600 institutions across 76 countries representing more than $5.2 trillion in assets committing to some level of divestment.
“In the face of Trump’s dangerous climate denial, youth are rising up,” said Greta Neubauer, Director of the Divestment Student Network. “For any chance at curbing the worst impacts of climate change, our universities must stand on the right side of history with students and take action now against Trump’s climate denial. We won’t allow Trump and his fossil fuel billionaire cabinet to foreclose on our future.”
Prior to election day, young people proved themselves a force to be reckoned with. This was demonstrated in unprecedented political engagement throughout the election, challenging candidates to take stronger stances on climate, as well as in youth organized sit-ins at senate offices, engagement in mass mobilizations such as Women’s Marches and the #DayAgainstDenial, and rallying to oppose Trump’s corrupt climate-denying appointees.
Young people have been a driving factor in pushing our institutions to stand on the right side of history, with two consecutive years of on-campus escalation from 100 campuses, resulting in over 30 arrests, with victories at the University of Massachusetts and University of Oregon. Since 2014, thousands of students across the country have participated in national escalation for fossil fuel divestment.
Beyond fossil fuel divestment, young people are taking action to ensure elected officials take necessary action on climate and against Big Oil. In an ongoing lawsuit, 21 young people from across the United States filed a landmark lawsuit against the federal government for its failure to address the effects of climate change.
“This is a wake up call to Donald Trump; there are almost 75 million people in this country under the age of 18,” said Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, Youth Director of Earth Guardians and a plaintiff in the federal climate change lawsuit. “We didn’t have an opportunity to vote in the past election, but we will suffer the consequences of climate inaction to a greater degree than any living generation. Our right to a just and livable future is nonnegotiable.”
Just last week, the World Meteorological Organization confirmed that 2016 was the hottest year on record, and the second hottest year in U.S. history surpassing records of 2015 and 2014. Extreme weather, including storms, floods and droughts, are impacting communities at a pace and magnitude far exceeding previous predictions, making it even more crucial that institutions divest and take meaningful action on climate.
“Hope is something we must create. In this moment, the best way to do that is by taking action and showing that we will rise to this moment,” said Neubauer. “When it comes to climate change, time is not on our side. This is just the beginning of the opposition that the Trump’s administration should expect from young people.”