Following carbon neutrality achievement, American University students organize to support fossil fuel divestment

By: Lauren Patetta

WASHINGTON — Fossil Free American University, a student group dedicated to promoting fossil fuel divestment on campus, recently held its first meeting of the semester to discuss future projects and meet new members.

Since American University announced it achieved carbon neutrality last year, the student-run campaign led by FFAU has gained momentum, as the group argued that AU cannot claim total carbon neutrality until it divests entirely from the fossil fuel industry.

AU’s 13-member Board of Trustees allows the school to indirectly invest in fossil fuel companies for profit, according to Hannah Klaus, senior environmental studies major and a key leader of the group. This, she said, conflicts with AU’s sustainability efforts, and FFAU aims to reveal this to the administration and campus community.

“We’re trying to morally bankrupt the fossil fuel industry rather than economically,” said Klaus. “It’s about making it not acceptable for universities to be supporting them.

In order to achieve this goal, FFAU has pioneered online campaigns with videos, hashtags, tweets, and letter-writing. Many group members also sported orange felt pins on their backpacks to show support for the cause. FFAU hopes these efforts reach the student community, the faculty, and even the Board of Trustees, said sophomore Miranda Dotson.

AU does not recognize FFAU as an official club on their list of active organizations, but Klaus said this is intentional.

“We can’t be an affiliated organization and still do the kinds of activism that we do,” Klaus said. “Our protesting wouldn’t be possible if we were an official club.”

The inaugural meeting, held on the second floor of the Mary Graydon Student Center, brought 30 students from various years and backgrounds together to discuss environmental issues on and off campus. Even though the group’s “horizontal leadership” structure stops them from having an e-board, said Dotson, the leaders of the group clustered together at the front of the room, preparing their presentations.

New and existing members, clad mostly in shorts and t-shirts to combat the D.C. heat, responded with enthusiasm to FFAU’s remarks and promotional videos. After grabbing a characteristic orange pin and a handful of free candy from a table by the entrance, the students gathered their chairs in a circle and discussed why they wanted to join the organization.

“I came because I wanted to get more involved on campus,” said sophomore Andrew Klabnik. “Since we all see AU as a sustainable campus, it was a shock to learn that they invest in fossil fuels and have been ignoring that problem.”

Of course, the administration at AU does not technically have control over the board’s investments, according to Megan Litke, director of AU’s sustainability program.

“Our focus is on the campus’ direct impact on the environment through day to day campus activity,” Litke said.

Litke also said that AU has many future sustainability goals, such as connecting campus to D.C. sustainability, but FFAU’s predominant concern is the one the office cannot address.

This article was written for my Fall 2018 Digital Skills class. It was initially written to practice HTML/CSS coding.