{"id":336877,"date":"2025-12-09T23:24:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T23:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/activist\/winning-a-fossil-fuel-divestment-pledge-is-hard-keeping-it-is-harder\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T23:24:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T23:24:01","slug":"winning-a-fossil-fuel-divestment-pledge-is-hard-keeping-it-is-harder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=336877","title":{"rendered":"Winning a Fossil Fuel Divestment Pledge Is Hard. Keeping It Is Harder."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div id=\"article-title-block_66e7287fd62eed0bc84bb412055647c0\" class=\"article-title \">\n<div class=\"article-title__container\">\n<div class=\"article-title__eyebrow\">\n                            <span class=\"article-title__labels\"><br \/>\n                                        <span class=\"article-title__label\"><br \/>\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/subject\/activism\/\">Activism<\/a><br \/>\n                    <\/span><br \/>\n                                                            <span class=\"article-title__label-divider\"> \/ <\/span><br \/>\n                                                            <span class=\"article-title__label\"><br \/>\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/content\/studentnation\/\">StudentNation<\/a><br \/>\n                                        <\/span><br \/>\n                                    <\/span><br \/>\n                                    <span class=\"article-title__label-divider\"> \/ <\/span><br \/>\n                                                                            <span class=\"article-title__date\">November 6, 2025<\/span>\n                                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>Nearly a decade after promising to withdraw millions in fossil fuel investments, the University of Massachusetts has stalled on its clean energy transition. What happened?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ad-block ad siderail-ad float-r-w-3 break-r-4\">\n<p>                                    <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thenation.com\/advertising-policy\" class=\"ad-policy\" target=\"_blank\">Ad Policy<\/a><br \/>\n                                    <\/aside>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"907\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fossil-Fuel-Divestment.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-576384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fossil-Fuel-Divestment.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fossil-Fuel-Divestment-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fossil-Fuel-Divestment-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fossil-Fuel-Divestment-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fossil-Fuel-Divestment-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fossil-Fuel-Divestment-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fossil-Fuel-Divestment-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fossil-Fuel-Divestment-793x500.jpg 793w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\n<p>Students and alumni at Tufts University demonstrate for fossil fuel divestment in April 2015.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"credits\">(David L. Ryan \/ Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside id=\"aside-block-block_5cba0e76db2436af85316f83aa770ee9\" class=\"aside-block  float-l-w-2\">\n    <span style=\"color: #666666; font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\">This story was produced for StudentNation, a program of the <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenationfund.org\/\">Nation Fund for Independent Journalism<\/a><span style=\"color: #666666; font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\">, which is dedicated to highlighting the best of student journalism. For more StudentNation, check out\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/admin-taxonomy\/studentnation\/\">our archive<\/a><span style=\"color: #666666; font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #666666; font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\">or learn more about the program\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenationfund.org\/what-we-do\/studentnation\/\">here<\/a><span style=\"color: #666666; font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\">. StudentNation is made possible through generous funding from<\/span><span style=\"color: #666666; font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\">\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.puffinfoundation.org\/\">The Puffin Foundation<\/a><span style=\"color: #666666; font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\">. If you\u2019re a student and you have an article idea, please send pitches and questions to<\/span><span style=\"color: #666666; font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\">\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thenation.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#deaeb7aabdb6bbad9eaab6bbb0bfaab7b1b0b8abb0baf0b1acb9\"><span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"c4b4adb0a7aca1b784b0aca1aaa5b0adabaaa2b1aaa0eaabb6a3\">[email\u00a0protected]<\/span>.<\/a><span style=\"box-sizing: inherit; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 \/ 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; font-size: 1rem;\"\/><br \/>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">In 2016, the University of Massachusetts became the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.massachusetts.edu\/news\/umass-becomes-first-major-public-university-divest-direct-fossil-fuel-holdings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first major public university<\/a> in the United States to sever direct financial ties with the fossil fuel industry. For years, relentless <a href=\"https:\/\/nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu\/content\/university-massachusetts-students-win-fossil-fuel-divestment-2012-2016\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">student organizing<\/a> had been met with administrative intransigence and repeated rejection. But the Divest UMass campaign only grew larger, louder, and more determined.<\/p>\n<p>When protests <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/cognoscenti\/2016\/04\/21\/umass-divestment-frederick-hewett\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">escalated into sit-ins<\/a>, administrators <a href=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/news\/2016\/04\/umass_divest_campaign_continue.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called police<\/a> to break them up. Students refused to back down, and within a month, UMass pledged to withdraw an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loe.org\/shows\/segments.html?programID=16-P13-00024&amp;segmentID=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">estimated $5\u20138 million<\/a> in fossil fuel holdings from its endowment, having already been pressured to dump $400,000 in coal stocks months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>After years of obstruction, the administration seemingly embraced divestment. President Marty Meehan lauded the students\u2019 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/news\/2016\/05\/in_wake_of_divestumass_action.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">principled persistence<\/a>,\u201d crediting them with having \u201cput divestment on the agenda.\u201d Then-chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy praised their \u201cpassionate commitment to social justice and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eager to capitalize on the positive press that portrayed UMass as a progressive climate leader, administrators repackaged a grassroots victory as institutional branding. Co-opting the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycollegian.com\/2021\/11\/a-revolutionary-campus-a-brief-look-at-social-movements-over-the-years-at-umassa-revolutionary-campus-a-brief-look-at-social-movements-over-the-years-at-umass\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">storied history<\/a> of campus activism from anti-Vietnam protests to anti-apartheid campaigns, they rolled out its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umass.edu\/news\/article\/%E2%80%98be-revolutionary%E2%80%99-umass-amherst-launches\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">latest slogan<\/a>: \u201cBe Revolutionary.\u201d It was introduced alongside a new strategic plan promising a just transition to renewable energy and a pledge to achieve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umass.edu\/gateway\/umass-stories\/legacy-sustainability-continues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">carbon neutrality by 2032<\/a>. A student referendum endorsed the proposal with <a href=\"https:\/\/masspirgstudents.org\/2021\/04\/22\/umass-needs-to-make-the-commitment-to-100-percent-renewable-energy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">92 percent support<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But what appeared as an unambiguous victory for students and the planet\u2014an example of the university as a laboratory of democracy and social change\u2014has soured into institutional hypocrisy. Rather than deepen commitment to civic engagement, they have instead cultivated a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/activism\/the-threat-of-democracy-on-campus-at-umass\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">culture of opacity and repression<\/a>, designed to ensure that such campaigns never succeed again. Nearly a decade after the divestment pledge, UMass has stalled on its clean energy transition, and the university continues to maintain <a href=\"https:\/\/theshoestring.org\/2024\/06\/12\/weapons-fossil-fuels-and-illegal-settlements-inside-the-umass-amherst-endowment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">indirect fossil fuel investments<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">In 2016, the administration conceded that complicity with such industries was both unsustainable and indefensible. Today it clings to a narrow definition of fiduciary responsibility, treating indirect investments as occupying a separate moral and ethical category, detached from the social and ecological harm they perpetuate.<\/p>\n<div id=\"current-issue-block_3464f03ece9fe5a9d75218c8bef083ec\" class=\"current-issue  float-l-w-2\">\n<h4 class=\"current-issue__title\">\n                    Current Issue<br \/>\n            <\/h4>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/issue\/december-2025-issue\/\" class=\"current-issue__cover\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1225cover-1.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of December 2025 Issue\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The full financial picture is difficult to discern. While UMass is a public university, its endowment is managed by the private <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umassfoundation.org\/s\/1355\/22\/foundation-home.aspx?sid=1355&amp;gid=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UMass Foundation<\/a>, a bureaucratic arrangement that shields investments and operations from scrutiny. The limited records available reveal millions invested in oil and gas giants, including at least $1.1 million in ExxonMobil alone, not only one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1058434\/leading-ghg-emissions-fossil-fuel-companies-globally\/?srsltid=AfmBOopeW54n0NLb_j_RKoI7Zg3p45eaOcioPK_iRvVl9OJxq7lMOdG4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">world\u2019s largest polluters<\/a> but sits atop the list of 100 corporations responsible for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sustainable-business\/2017\/jul\/10\/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">71 percent<\/a> of global greenhouse emissions since 1988. Investing in Exxon, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bankingonclimatechaos.org\/?bank=JPMorgan%20Chase#fulldata-panel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">financial institutions<\/a> like JPMorgan Chase that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2023\/jan\/17\/banks-still-investing-heavily-in-fossil-fuels-despite-net-zero-pledges-study?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bankroll fossil fuel expansion<\/a>, violates the spirit if not the letter of divestment. <\/p>\n<p>Universities <a href=\"https:\/\/virginiamercury.com\/2023\/06\/19\/virginia-students-are-pushing-for-fossil-fuel-divestment-universities-say-its-complicated\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">often<\/a> defend such indirect holdings as too complex to untangle, or too vital to protect returns. At UMass, however, that defense collapses. First, as Meehan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loe.org\/shows\/segments.html?programID=16-P13-00024&amp;segmentID=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">himself acknowledged<\/a>, the decision was never primarily financial: \u201cHigher education institutions have an obligation to show leadership on moral issues facing our society,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it sends the right message.\u201d Second, far from UMass suffering losses, its endowment has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umassfoundation.org\/s\/1355\/22\/interior.aspx?sid=1355&amp;gid=1&amp;pgid=6833\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nearly doubled<\/a> over the past decade, from roughly $789 million in 2014 to $1.5 billion today.<\/p>\n<p>Indirect holdings might be understandable, though not excusable, in isolation. But UMass\u2019s refusal to confront them is part of a broader retreat from its stated democratic principles and climate commitments. Even as the endowment has ballooned, little has been directed toward the promised clean energy transition, which has all but ground to a halt.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cta-block_4fc753fbea360d165785dd346af9b7fb\" class=\"cta float-l-w-2\">\n<p>Lori Goldner, a professor emerita of physics and a member of the campus decarbonization subcommittee has grown increasingly frustrated. Electrification, she acknowledges, is \u201cmassively expensive,\u201d but, she insists, \u201cit is what they promised to do. They need to find a way to make the transition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Most harmful has been the adoption of so-called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2025\/05\/as-renewable-diesel-surges-sustainability-claims-are-deeply-questioned\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">renewable<\/a>\u201d diesel. \u201cThere really is no such thing,\u201d Goldner explains. Once conceived as a temporary solution for sectors such as transportation, it has morphed into a lucrative market for waste oil, fueling deforestation and land dispossession in places like Brazil and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sei.org\/features\/indonesian-palm-oil-exports-and-deforestation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Indonesia<\/a>. If UMass embraces such \u201csolutions,\u201d she warns, it will incentivize others to do the same, legitimizing \u201cthe oil companies\u2019 new scam for survival\u201d and prolonging the fossil-fuel economy under the guise of sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>The administration has also internally tried to shift metrics to justify this backsliding. While total campus CO<sub>2<\/sub> emissions <a href=\"https:\/\/unhsimap.org\/public\/institution\/2684\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rose by 7 percent<\/a> last year, a members of the Chancellor\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umass.edu\/sustainability\/our-commitment\/chancellors-sustainability-advisory-committee-csac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sustainability Advisory Committee<\/a> attempted to claim progress by citing per-capita reductions. \u201cThat is not how anybody measures it,\u201d Goldner stresses. The committee did not respond to request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>History professor Kevin Young recalls administrators justifying renewable diesel on the grounds that campus solar capacity was \u201cvirtually maxed out.\u201d But staff in the Physical Plant, responsible for handling campus energy usage, counter that claim, reporting that UMass \u201ccould at least double the number of solar panels\u201d already installed.<\/p>\n<p>In its attempts to mask its failures, the university has now redefined success downward, while true alternatives remain neglected for lack of political will and amid a growing culture of impunity. Posters touting a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.umass.edu\/sustainability\/our-commitment\/carbon-zero\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">carbon-zero campus<\/a>\u201d remain visible at construction sites across campus, but as Goldner puts it: \u201cCarbon zero no longer exists. They should take those down.\u201d<\/p>\n<section aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ad fullwidth-ad contained row position-relative ad-block alignfull \">\n    <!--Ad policy starts here--><br \/>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thenation.com\/advertising-policy\" class=\"mid-ad-policy\">Ad Policy<\/a><br \/>\n        <!--Ad policy ends here--><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">The retreat from transparency has been paired with rising repression of free expression\u2014especially around Gaza solidarity protests. In the 2023\u201324 academic year, nearly 200 students <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycollegian.com\/2024\/05\/protestors-form-second-gaza-solidarity-encampment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">were arrested<\/a> and faced charges and disciplinary proceedings for employing many of the same tactics <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2023\/10\/27\/umass-amherst-protests-arrests\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">once celebrated<\/a> as part of the Divest UMass campaign. Only this time, their demand was divestment from Israeli apartheid and from war profiteers such as Raytheon.<\/p>\n<p>After it became clear that students were now treating the university\u2019s slogan, \u201cBe Revolutionary,\u201d as a genuine call to action, the administration quietly retired it, marking not only the abandonment of climate commitments but also the erosion of any pretense of democratic accountability.<\/p>\n<p>Whether pressing for fossil-fuel divestment or ending ties with war profiteers, campus coalitions have continued to exhaust official channels: submitting reports, circulating petitions, and in the fossil-fuel campaign case, collecting more than 1,100 signatures. Yet each time, the answer has been identical: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amherstindy.org\/2024\/12\/13\/letter-the-umass-foundation-respectfully-denies-our-right-to-a-future\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">respectfully denied<\/a>,\u201d without explanation, without appeal, and without disclosure of who made the decision or on what grounds.<\/p>\n<p>This sense of stalled progress has led members of the <a href=\"https:\/\/hubs.sunrisemovement.org\/amherst\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sunrise Movement at UMass Amherst<\/a>, an organization <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycollegian.com\/2025\/03\/sunrise-movement-co-founder-varshini-prakash-presents-on-past-and-future-of-climate-activism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">originally launched<\/a> by then\u2013UMass undergraduate Varshini Prakash at the height of the fossil fuel divestment campaign, to conclude that the university has \u201cfailed to act as responsible stewards of the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Administrators continue to insist that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umass.edu\/gateway\/umass-stories\/legacy-sustainability-continues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sustainability is central<\/a> to their identity. Yet, as Sunrise organizers argue, \u201cwe have seen them so shamelessly bend to the will of climate-destroying profiteers,\u201d a pattern they say \u201cfurther corroborates their position as a predatory corporation that has betrayed students, faculty, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What explains this shift? To some extent, the Trump administration emboldened antidemocratic tendencies across institutions nationwide. Yet the transformation at UMass cannot be reduced to external pressures alone. It reflects a longer trajectory that dates back <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/education\/archive\/2017\/12\/a-history-of-the-conservative-war-on-universities\/547703\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to the 1970s<\/a>, as universities increasingly embraced corporate logic and profit-seeking at the expense of their public mission.<\/p>\n<p>The erosion of democracy on campus is thus emerging as much from within as without. As Young observes, at UMass \u201cour trustees and administrators have responded to external attacks by leaning harder into the corporate model. That means tailoring curriculum and research more closely to the desires of corporations, repressing those who protest genocide, and cutting back on superfluities like clean energy and climate justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<section id=\"popular-block_d05def55f8b53a63413f201704a010dd\" class=\"popular-articles\">\n<div class=\"swiper\">\n<p><h2>Popular<\/h2>\n<p>            <span class=\"swipe-msg\"><span class=\"sr-only\">\u201cswipe left below to view more authors\u201d<\/span>Swipe \u2192<\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<ol class=\"popular-articles__list\">\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>This is not a question of scarcity. It is a question of priorities. \u201cIt is not that there is no money,\u201d Young insists. \u201cUMass Amherst has run regular surpluses of $100 million or more. Administrators spend lavishly on football stadiums and their own salaries while telling everyone else to tighten their belts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What has expanded alongside these surpluses is a managerial class of careerist administrators and trustees whose commitments lie not with the university\u2019s historical mission as much as with the incentives of profit. The current chancellor, Javier Reyes, appointed in 2023, has overseen a period marked by open <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2024\/05\/22\/umass-javier-reyes-gaza-protest-encampment-police-no-confidence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hostility to dissent<\/a> and a fixation on short-term financial performance at the expense of long-term institutional and environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are caught in the pincers of external ideologues and internal careerists,\u201d Young warns. The result is a public university increasingly governed as if it were a private corporation, accountable neither to its students nor to the broader community it was created to serve.<\/p>\n<p>In less than a decade, UMass has gone from celebrating student activism as a source of renewal to criminalizing it. Climate pledges have been hollowed into marketing slogans, and campus has been remade as a site of repression rather than democratic engagement.<\/p>\n<p>In the process, students have realized that democratic backsliding is not confined to Washington. It is reproduced in their own institutions, creating a vicious cycle in which unelected boards and unaccountable administrators operate with contempt for the communities they claim to serve.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe see the student struggle today not only as a push for divestment itself, but as a push for the democratization of our campus,\u201d explained student organizer Eric Strong. It is a matter of \u201cputting decision-making power back in the hands of students, faculty, and staff where it belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-end-\" class=\"article-end \">\n<div class=\"article-end__authors\">\n<div class=\"article-end__author\">\n<h5 class=\"article-end__author-name\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/eric-ross\/\">Eric Ross<\/a><br \/>\n                    <\/h5>\n<div class=\"article-end__author-bio\">\n<p>Eric Ross is an organizer, educator, and PhD candidate in the history department at the University of Massachusetts\u2013Amherst.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <!-- Tag ID: thenation_incontent_2 --><\/p>\n<section class=\"collections collections--col-0\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<h2 class=\"collections__title\">More from <span class=\"not-italic\">The Nation<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"collection__row\">\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/activism\/san-diego-clergy-immigrants-ice\/\" aria-label=\"San Diego\u2019s Clergy Offer Solace to Immigrants\u2014and a Shield Against ICE\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/san-diego-immigrant-michael-pham-faith.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/san-diego-immigrant-michael-pham-faith-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/san-diego-immigrant-michael-pham-faith-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/san-diego-immigrant-michael-pham-faith-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/san-diego-immigrant-michael-pham-faith-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/san-diego-immigrant-michael-pham-faith-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/san-diego-immigrant-michael-pham-faith-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/san-diego-immigrant-michael-pham-faith-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/san-diego-immigrant-michael-pham-faith.jpg\" alt=\"San Diego Bishop-Designate Michael Pham, center left, and Father Scott Santarosa, center right, stand next to other faith leaders in front of the Edward J. Schwartz federal building on June 20, 2025, in San Diego, California.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>In no other US city has the faith community mobilized at such a large scale to defend immigrants against the federal government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/sasha-abramsky\/\">Sasha Abramsky<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/activism\/conde-nast-fired-four-union-labor\/\" aria-label=\"If Cond\u00e9 Nast Can Illegally Fire Me, No Union Worker Is Safe\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/conde-nast-rally-newsguild.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/conde-nast-rally-newsguild-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/conde-nast-rally-newsguild-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/conde-nast-rally-newsguild-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/conde-nast-rally-newsguild-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/conde-nast-rally-newsguild-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/conde-nast-rally-newsguild-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/conde-nast-rally-newsguild-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/conde-nast-rally-newsguild.jpg\" alt=\"New York City council member Chi Oss\u00e9 speaks at rally in support of the Fired Four in front of the Cond\u00e9 Nast offices in New York City on November 12, 2025.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>The Trump administration is making employers think they can ignore their legal obligations and trample on the rights of workers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/alma-avalle\/\">Alma Avalle<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/activism\/broadview-ice-cbp-gregory-bovino\/\" aria-label=\"The Counteroffensive Against Operation Midway Blitz\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Broadvew.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Broadvew-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Broadvew-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Broadvew-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Broadvew-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Broadvew-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Broadvew-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Broadvew-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Broadvew.jpg\" alt=\"Protesters face off against border agents outside the ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>How Chicago residents and protesters banded together against the Trump administration&#8217;s immigration shock troops.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/amanda-moore\/\">Amanda Moore<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/activism\/trial-israel-chicago-protest\/\" aria-label=\"In an Unusual Twist, the Prosecution of a Gaza Protester Puts Israel on Trial\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nitaawe.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nitaawe-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nitaawe-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nitaawe-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nitaawe-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nitaawe-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nitaawe-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nitaawe-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nitaawe.jpg\" alt=\"In an Unusual Twist, the Prosecution of a Gaza Protester Puts Israel on Trial\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>An activist argued that genocide in Gaza necessitated disrupting business as usual. The City of Chicago argued in defense of Israel\u2014and against civil disobedience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/sarah-lazare\/\">Sarah Lazare<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/activism\/no-kings-local-elections-run-for-something\/\" aria-label=\"The Left Must Build Its Infrastructure\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/no-kings-getty.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/no-kings-getty-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/no-kings-getty-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/no-kings-getty-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/no-kings-getty-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/no-kings-getty-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/no-kings-getty-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/no-kings-getty-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/no-kings-getty.jpg\" alt=\"The Left Must Build Its Infrastructure\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>We need to look not at what it will take to win the next election, but what it\u2019ll take to win the next 10 elections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/amanda-litman\/\">Amanda Litman<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/activism\/public-health-social-movements-trump\/\" aria-label=\"Public Health Was a Place for Warriors Once. It Needs to Be Again.\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241816162.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241816162-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241816162-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241816162-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241816162-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241816162-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241816162-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241816162-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241816162.jpg\" alt=\"Participants demonstrate against US President Donald Trump\u2019s administration, including against ICE, entrepreneur Elon Musk, and US Health Secretary Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. outside the US embassy as they attend the global \u201cNo Kings\u201d protest in front of the Brandenburg Gate on October 18, 2025, in Berlin, Germany.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>It&#8217;s time for us to reconnect with the radical, system-changing spirit that was once at the heart of our field.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/gregg-gonsalves\/\">Gregg Gonsalves<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>        <!-- Tag ID: thenation_btf_medrec --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"tpContentAuthor\" value=\"Eric Ross\"\/><br \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"tpTags\" value=\"activism,climate-change,coal-industry,education,energy,environment,environmental-activism,environmental-issues,higher-education,oil-and-gas,society,sustainability,youth,studentnation\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"ade3313814257095992a4d59-text\/javascript\">\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n\t\t{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n\t\tif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n\t\tn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\tfbq('init', '233793277040432');\n\t\tfbq('track', 'PageView');\n\t\t\t\t<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Activism \/ StudentNation \/ November 6, 2025 Nearly a decade after promising to withdraw millions in fossil fuel investments, the University of Massachusetts has stalled on its clean energy transition. What happened? Ad Policy Students and alumni at Tufts University demonstrate for fossil fuel divestment in April 2015. (David L. Ryan \/ Getty) This story [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":336878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12022],"tags":[28971,1468,3158,1338,18692,5172,62129,19837],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-336877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activist","tag-divestment","tag-fossil","tag-fuel","tag-hard","tag-harder","tag-keeping","tag-pledge","tag-winning"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Winning a Fossil Fuel Divestment Pledge Is Hard. Keeping It Is Harder. - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=336877\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Winning a Fossil Fuel Divestment Pledge Is Hard. Keeping It Is Harder. - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Activism \/ StudentNation \/ November 6, 2025 Nearly a decade after promising to withdraw millions in fossil fuel investments, the University of Massachusetts has stalled on its clean energy transition. What happened? Ad Policy Students and alumni at Tufts University demonstrate for fossil fuel divestment in April 2015. (David L. 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