I am a UMass graduate. It is commendable the students are involved in civil disobedience regarding their concerns. To be truly effective the protesters must have “skin in the game,” Otherwise the occupation looks hypocritical. Personal divestment from fossil fuels? The students use their laptops, which are made of plastic and contain metals mined by machines responsible for environmental degradation. The data “cloud” is powered by huge servers, a major user of electricity. Solar panels, cars, buses, tires a major oil consumer. Heating, cooking, clothing, pavement, lighting, medical devices, food packaging … My point is unless a protester will divest their fossil fuel use as much as possible, then it is easy to protest while not following through yourself on the demands you expect others to make. Dedicate the money from fossil fuel investment toward tuition reduction for poorer students, or for reinvestment in green technology, thereby having the fossil fuel industry “pay” for green initiatives.
ROBERT BOURKE
Heath