Hamilton Gazetteer / Entities / Hamilton Divests

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organization

Hamilton Divests

Overview

Hamilton Divests is a student-run fossil fuel divestment organization at Hamilton College, organized in alignment with Bill McKibben’s 350.org national campaign, which was active at more than 300 institutions by 2013. The group coordinated student, faculty, and employee advocacy for divestment from fossil fuel holdings in Hamilton’s $635 million endowment.

Relevance to Research

Hamilton Divests is extensively documented in the December 12, 2013 Spectator and in the student government and activism coverage of the 2012–2013 period. The organization published a faculty, student, and employee manifesto in the Spectator, secured direct student-trustee meetings, and explicitly invoked the 1986–87 anti-apartheid divestment campaign and shantytown protests as their historical precedent. On December 9, 2013, the Student Assembly passed a fossil fuel divestment resolution by a 26–3 vote, calling on the Board of Trustees to “judiciously divest” from fossil fuels without incurring unacceptable losses. The Spectator editorial board endorsed the resolution. The December 2013 Board of Trustees meeting — held concurrently with the 1812 Leadership Circle Weekend in Manhattan — was the first occasion on which trustees engaged seriously with alternative clean-energy investment funds.

Notes

Type: Student organization (environmental / social justice advocacy)
Active period at Hamilton: 2012–2013 documented; likely ongoing
Key events: - Organized in alignment with Bill McKibben’s 350.org campaign (then active at 300+ institutions) - Published faculty/student/employee manifesto in the Spectator - Secured direct student-trustee meetings - Explicitly invoked 1986–87 anti-apartheid divestment campaign as historical precedent - Student Assembly passes 26–3 fossil fuel divestment resolution, December 9, 2013 - Spectator editorial endorses resolution; December 2013 Board meeting is first serious trustee engagement with clean-energy alternatives