_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
_x000D_
This week, 78 percent of Pomona’s student body voted in favor of an ASPC Senate resolution in support of divesting its endowment funds from fossil fuel conglomerates (see article on page 1). The question that follows is quite clear: What do we do now? This editorial board would like to warn students that demonstrating strong student support is essential, but now more leverage must be exerted if there is any real hope for divestment.
_x000D_
The vote poses little impetus for the school to enact change and gives little to no actual pressure to force a Board of Trustees vote in favor of divestment. It is relatively easy for a student to click “yes” while filling out an online ballot, but we would venture to guess that most students who did so likely won’t bother to do much more. When it comes to the enormous amount of money that would be influenced by an actual Board of Trustees move to screen fossil fuels from its investment portfolio, the divestment issue can’t be left to the passage of a resolution that doesn’t challenge students to think or act meaningfully. It simply doesn’t align with the magnitude of what divestment would actually involve. Students should think carefully in order to decide whether divestment—a major undertaking and one that would make this institution something of a pioneer in actually going forward with such a dramatic measure—is worth really fighting for.
_x000D_
Figuring out how to maneuver around what the Board and the administration believe are the best reasons not to divest and ensuring that the movement will not lose steam when it loses its seniors this May are good places to start. If divestment is something students really believe in, then this is not the time to take a moment to pat oneself on the back. Indeed, the student body spoke decisively through the vote by a healthy majority. But we already knew many students on a campus like ours are liable to support divestment. The Board certainly isn’t going to divest of its own volition, and they still won’t just because students passed a resolution. Let’s make sure this issue reaches a more serious level of consideration by asking what exactly is preventing it from coming to fruition and by becoming more informed about how to neutralize those obstacles.