AMHERST – Dozens of students resumed a sit-in inside the Whitmore Administration Building early Tuesday, demanding the University of Massachusetts divest from fossil fuel companies.
The demonstration marked the second day of protest by students calling for the institution to divest from the top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies by the end of Wednesday. Students began the sit-in Monday.
Members of the group, which calls itself the UMass Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign, are scheduled to talk by phone Tuesday at 1 p.m. with university president Martin Meehan and UMass trustees chairman Victor Woolridge. The demonstrators agreed to leave the Whitmore building Monday at 5 p.m. after learning UMass officials would talk with them today.
UMass sophomore Mica Reel said Tuesday morning that the call alone does not satisfy the group’s demands.
“The reason we’re sitting in is not to just have another conversation with the administration,” Reel said. “We’re sitting in to get a ‘yes’ on full fossil fuel divestment.”
Nearly 30 students were engaged in the sit-in as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, a number Reel said is expected to grow throughout the day.
About 30 students began the sit-in early Monday and a rally involving about 150 people began at the Student Union at noon, shifting to the Whitmore building.
The group also issued a statement Tuesday, describing itself as an organization fighting for climate justice by “demanding our institution divest from the top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies and reinvest in projects and funds that do not perpetuate racism, classism, sexism and other systems of oppression.”
Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.