Minutes from Fossil Free WSU Meeting on February 28, 2023
Present: Stevie Smith, Ryan Culp, Daniel Howell, Simon Smith, Robert Rohl, Bill Engels
1. Next Meeting Date
The group decided to hold the next meeting on schedule, March 14th, but on Zoom since that meeting date fell on Spring Break. Bill will send the information to the members for joining on Zoom.
2. Outcome of Presentation to APAC
Stevie reported that his and Mason’s presentation to the Asian Pacific American Student Coalition went well. Twenty-five people attended and some asked questions afterward. However, the organization has not yet signed the petition and may decide not to. Stevie will send a follow-up email to Marc, the group leader. ISC decided not to sign.
3. Student Petition
Bill reported that the five paper flyers he posted in the CUB two weeks ago were still up. Stevie will ask Mason about posting the flyer on e-signs on campus again since it appears to have been taken off. Also, he will ask him about posting on any additional e-signs.
It was decided not to send out the petition via email to the students again since the first posting was a year ago and students could accidentally sign twice. Also, the petition was already sent out a second time last fall.
It was suggested that we ask the College of Communications for their advice on how best to publicize the petition. Bill said he would ask Mason if he would be willing to inquire in person.
4. Faculty Petition
Bill sent Stevie a draft of the letter to accompany the petition for his review. Stevie will arrange to have the letter and petition sent out by email during the week after spring break, which begins on March 13th. He advised adding language to the letter about FFWSU’s supporting a gradual phasing out, rather than a sudden removal, of fossil fuel investments by WSU. This would address a primary concern among some faculty that divestment would hurt WSU financially. Bill said he would add this language and resend the letter to Stevie. The group also agreed to alter the some of the wording of the petition from the version sent to students.
5. Sustainability Task Force
Stevie reported that Jason Sampson, ESA faculty advisor and co-chair of the Task Force, indicated that he planned to attend our next FFWSU meeting. Bill asked the group members to bring questions for Jason to the meeting. Simon shared Jason’s suggestion from their recent conversation about ESA’s and FFWSU’s taking advantage of small and large grant money available for projects.
6. Divestment Resolution Draft and Cougar Investment Fund
Bill did not have any updates on the draft, but said he would write to Dr. Reyes next week regarding the Fund and work on the Resolution during spring break.
7. WSU’s Investments
Bill indicated he had written Mike Connell, CEO of the WSU Foundation, to ask whether WSU is still invested in EnCap, the offshore hedge fund that is a major financial backer of fossil fuel companies. WSU was named as an investor in EnCap in the 2017 Guardian article “Top US universities use offshore funds to grow their huge endowments.” He had also submitted another request to the WSU Public Records Office but was told to expect a response on July 17, 2023 or later.
8. Rally and March in April
The group decided to hold the event in the Ruby St. park on campus on the Saturday of Earth Week at WSU after the clean up that day. Ryan volunteered to research activities carried out at other schools to create awareness about and support for their campaigns. Robert indicated that he could arrange potential speakers for this or other FFWSU events and mentioned Edmond Schweitzer of Schweitzer’s Engineering and Gaylen Campbell of Meter Group in Pullman as options.
9. Governor Inslee’s Talk on February 17th
Stevie shared his recording of Gil’s question to Governor Inslee about whether he supported fossil fuel divestment. The Governor indicated that he would back a decision by WSU to divest.
10. Public Comments at March 10th Board of Regents Meeting
Ryan and Simon volunteered to comment. Others wished to volunteer but were unsure of their schedules that day. Bill will send Ryan a sample comment.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 14th, 6 pm, on Zoom.
Fossil Free WSU 