Five demands for the five colleges
The Five Colleges - the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Smith College, Amherst College, Hampshire College, and Mount Holyoke College - collectively include the largest government entities, largest employers, and largest sources of carbon emissions in Western Massachusetts. As part of the Global Climate Strike on September 20, 2019, Extinction Rebellion Western Massachusetts and a coalition of other campus and community organizations delivered the letter below to the Chancellor of UMass Amherst. This is a living document and other signatories are welcome to join us - to add your organizations’s name, contact us at xr_western_mass@protonmail.com.
September 20, 2019
Dear Chancellor Subbaswamy, President Martin, President McCartney, President Wingenbach, President Stephens, and Trustees of the Five Colleges,
We are a growing coalition of Five College students, staff, faculty, and community members deeply concerned about the unfolding climate crisis and committed to demanding that our local institutions address the escalating urgency of our times.
The United Nations 2018 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presents a preponderance of scientific evidence that we must take immediate and meaningful action to mitigate the catastrophic effects of climate change on our lives and our future.
In respect to the role that the Five Colleges play in our region, in our state, and in the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world, we are calling on the leadership of the University and each of the Colleges to take immediate and meaningful action on climate change. We appreciate the efforts that have already been made by each of your institutions. Given the magnitude of the crisis, further efforts and greater transparency are required.
We are calling on each of the Five College institutions to address the following demands during this next academic year, and we are partnering with students on each campus to customize these demands.
Tell the truth
Declare a state of climate emergency.
Act now
Develop comprehensive plans with community input to achieve complete divestment and to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and provide transparent communication and reporting on progress toward these goals.
Community Leadership
A Five College body composed of students, staff, faculty, and community stakeholders will develop and oversee plans for responding to the climate emergency.
pursue a just transition
Mitigation and adaptation efforts should prioritize the people on campuses and in communities who are most vulnerable to the immediate and long-term impacts of the climate crisis, including youth, people of color, indigenous peoples, and poor communities.
prepare your students for the future
All students must be educated on environmental science and how the climate emergency will affect their careers, their lives, and the lives of other people on our planet.
We will continue to demand urgent action on the part of the Five Colleges and bring these issues to public attention through rallies and non-violent civil disobedience. We call on the Five Colleges to recognize the facts and alarms raised by thousands of researchers around the world and within our community and to stand along with other institutions fighting for a future of social and environmental justice. We look forward to conversations about these demands and building relationships with campus and community leadership.
We welcome your responses.
Sincerely,
Extinction Rebellion Western Massachusetts, xr_western_mass@protonmail.com
Sunrise Movement UMass Amherst
Mount Holyoke College Sunrise Hub
Divest Smith College
Amherst College Food Justice Alliance
Sunrise Northampton
500 Women Scientists Amherst Pod
UMass Climateers
UMass Democrats
UMass Young Democratic Socialists of America
UMass Outing Club
Paperbark Literary Magazine
Western Mass Science for the People
The Enviro Show
Wendell State Forest Alliance
