Last Thursday, 43 students and alumni began the largest ever sit-in for fossil fuel divestment, asking Chris Niemczewski and Gil Kemp to reopen a productive dialogue on how we can end our investments in the fossil fuel industry. Our campaign and now our sit-in have put Swarthmore into the international spotlight and international climate leaders are taking notice of Gil Kemp and Chris Niemczewski’s continued intransigence. On the weekend we got some big news from one of the world’s leading climate activists and 350.org founder, Bill McKibben.

This Thursday at 4:30pm, Bill McKibben will join the sit-in for a major speaking event where he will talk about the role of the divestment movement and student escalation in the international climate movement. Then, on Monday, the UN Climate Chief and Swarthmore alumna Christiana Figueres ’79 published an open letter endorsing our sit-in and calling on Gil Kemp and Chris Niemczewski to divest. We might just be a small college in Pennsylvania, but we have a tremendous opportunity to change the course of history. We’re humbled that Bill McKibben is joining us and that Christiana Figueres has endorsed our sit-in, and we are hopeful that the pressure from this major rally will push the Board to join us in building the path towards a just and sustainable future.

Join students, faculty, alumni, and community members this evening at 4:30pm in Upper Tarble for what could be the largest climate event in Swarthmore’s history. A rally will follow a short talk by Bill on the role of the divestment movement and student escalation in the international climate movement. Visit swatmj.org/bill for more information.

For more information, visit the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1570328329892517/