Pro-commitment

According to an article in Capital New York (on Capital Pro, excuse us, subscription required) by former Bwog editor-at-large Conor Skelding, President Bollinger promised Barnard-Columbia Divest a decision on whether or not he will divest from fossil fuels by the end of the academic year. According to Skelding’s article, PrezBo made the commitment to a decision at a meeting with the group on Monday morning. The full article is reprinted below.

Columbia University president Lee C. Bollinger has promised to decide by the end of the academic year whether the university will divest from fossil fuels.

Bollinger made the commitment during a meeting Monday afternoon with Barnard-Columbia Divest, a group of activists whose goal is to divest the endowments of Barnard College and Columbia University from fossil fuels.

Karina Jougla, a member of B.C.D. and a Columbia junior studying comparative literature, attended the meeting at the president’s mansion on Morningside Drive.

“The commitment is that we will have a yes or no answer,” she told Capital. “There’s really no guarantee as to the outcome. Although from the tone of the meeting it was encouraging to me that President Bollinger seemed very open and interested in consider fossil fuel divesment.”

A university spokesman confirmed the committment in a statement to Capital.

“President Bollinger committed to a full exploration of the University’s role in the ongoing discussions around the reduction of fossil fuel emissions, with an understanding that divestment is one possible, but not the only, alternative to review. He committed to resolve the question of divestment this academic year,” the statement said.

A university official said the amount the school has invested in fossil fuels is not public.

To be clear, the commitment is not to a divestment of fossil fuels, but rather a decision on the matter. Barnard-Columbia Divest intercepted PrezBo to ask for the meeting during his annual 5K Fun Run on October 24, and he’s now giving the issue some due attention. Now, we just have to wait on this solution promise “commitment.”

BCD for Climate Justice logo via their Facebook page.