Posted by Andrew Shi
With unprecedented speed, Skidmore College's Board of Trustees has announced their decision for the immediate and absolute divestment from fossil fuel corporations. This decision follows student pressure on the College's head honchos to adhere to Skidmore's vocal commitment to sustainability.
To the even greater surprise of the Skidmore community, The Board of Trustees has seen the students' call and raised them one. In an email sent out Thursday, the Administration announced, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, that to further conform with the image Skidmore has cultivated, funds returned from divestment in fossil fuel corporations would be reinvested into cannabis.
The announcement was met with a lukewarm response by the community at large, who thought that such a decision with a still unsavory industry would tarnish Skidmore's reputation.
The administration responded with a second email on Friday, saying, "Skidmore College is proud to be a trailblazer when it comes to social issues. Our decision today to invest in cannabis not only celebrates Skidmore's liberal tradition, but is fiscally prudent with the rapid legalization of the market."
In the 80's, when South Africans were under the oppression of the apartheid government, Skidmore was the very first college among many to divest from South African steel companies in protest.
Although the process to divest and then reinvest funds in the range of 5-10% of Skidmore's endowment will be a long and likely arduous process, it looks like Skidmore is on its way to become just a little bit greener.
Correction: I erroneously claimed above that Skidmore was one of the very first colleges to divest from South African steel companies in opposition to the apartheid. In fact, Skidmore never divested from said companies. Apologies.