NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT · WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 · VOL. CXXXVIII, NO. 116 · yaledailynews.com
Yale divests $10 million from fossil fuels BY AYLA BESEMER AND FINNEGAN SCHICK STAFF REPORTERS After years of dogged student advocacy, the University’s Investments Office has divested part of Yale’s endowment from the fossil fuel industry. In a Tuesday letter to Yale’s Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility, Chief Investment
Officer David Swensen reported that after months of talking with Yale’s external investment managers about the potential risks associated with investments in coal and oil, around $10 million of the endowment has been removed from three publicly traded fossil fuel producers. Tuesday’s message follows a letter penned by Swensen in 2014, in which he asked Yale’s invest-
ment managers to consider climate change in their investment choices. Although Swensen did not release the names of the investment managers or companies involved, he said that by June 30 of last year — the end of fiscal year 2015 — Yale’s $25.6 billion endowment had only minor holdings in oil sands and thermal coal, which pollute more than other energy industries. Around
6.8 percent of the Yale endowment was invested in natural resources in fiscal year 2015, a drop from the 8.3 percent average of the previous four years. The announcement comes after five years of sustained student activism, at Yale and across the country, calling for universities to divest completely from fossil fuels. At Yale in particular, students have pointed to the fossil
fuel industry’s pernicious environmental and cultural impact, and the University’s stated commitment to ethical investment. While Swensen’s letter did not specifically mention the role of student voices, according to Fossil Free Yale member Nathan Lobel ’17, Swensen told the ACIR that the decision came at least in part due to student organizing. “The Investments Office
Students push for further climate action BY DAVID SHIMER STAFF REPORTER Roughly 100 students gathered on Cross Campus Tuesday afternoon to protest Yale’s investments in fossil fuels, while still recognizing that the University had taken one step forward toward divestment. Fossil Free Yale and the Association of Native Americans at Yale had long planned to co-host a protest in conjunction with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s Tuesday visit to campus for the United Nations Global Colloquium of University Presidents. But the event took on new meaning when, earlier that day, Chief Investment Officer David Swensen announced that the University had dropped $10 million worth of investments related to coal and oil sands. Various students spoke at the protest, with several stating that the campaign to divest is perhaps transitioning toward an updated message: “Divest the rest.” “We were really excited today to get the news that Yale has begun the process of partial divestment,” FFY member Rachel Calnek-Sugin ’19 said. “We see this as a small but sig-
Before the Yale College Council election polls officially open on Thursday, candidates vying to lead the student government faced off on issues ranging from financial aid pol-
dates responded to questions regarding the improvement of resources available to the LGBTQ community and Yale’s mental health system. While the vice-presidential candidates disagreed on how best to incorporate diverse student voices within the YCC, all agreed there is a “credibility gap” between the YCC and students of color on campus. The highlight of the night, the showdown among the five presidential candidates, immediately followed the vicepresidential debate. Some of the issues discussed included Yale’s mental health climate and the accountability of the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct. “The YCC is not a policymaking body, it is an advocating body,” Armstrong said. “This election is really about who has been and who will continue to be the most effective in getting the administration to respond to the student body.” Following last fall’s heated conversations surrounding SEE DEBATE PAGE 6
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Roughly 100 protesters demanded Tuesday that the University take more steps toward divestment. nificant step in our mission. We’re reading the fine print on Swensen’s statement because it has no commitment to divest fully, permanently or on ethical grounds on fossil fuels. So we
icy to athlete representation at a series of debates Tuesday in Linsly-Chittenden Hall before a crowd of close to 100 students. Four vice-presidential candidates — Luis Patiño ’18, Christopher Bowman ’18, Kevin Sullivan ’18 and Zach
The five YCC presidential candidates debated Tuesday night.
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CS dept. plans ULA expansion In the days following the approval of a proposal to expand the role of Undergraduate Learning Assistants in the Computer Science Department, professors and students have expressed overwhelming enthusiasm for the decision, though much work still remains to be done to ensure the quality of the incoming ULAs. ULAs, who could initially only be employed in CPSC 100, commonly known as CS50, this past fall, may now work in any undergraduate computer science course. Still, not all computer science classes will have ULAs, since individual professors have the option of whether to hire ULAs for their classes or to continue working with peer tutors and graders. Computer science professors and students interviewed agreed that the expansion is necessary, given the department’s rapidly growing undergraduate interest and small number of graduate students who serve as teaching fellows. But professors noted that the CS50 ULAs had to undergo significant training sessions, and incoming ULAs for other courses may need similarly rigorous preparation. “The more student contact you have, the more training is required. ULAs are trained not just about the rules, but also about how to be effective teachers,” said computer science professor Brian Scassellati, who taught CS50 in the fall. “You need to spend time training if you want good ULAs.” Still, computer science professor Daniel Abadi, who is in charge of training graduate-student teaching fellows, noted that though the specifics for training have not yet been finalized, the training for assistants working in other department courses will probably be “a little bit less intense” than the CS50 ULA training. Abadi added that the department is planning to meet with the Yale Center for Teaching and Learning in the upcoming weeks to finalize a training plan and determine how the application process for ULA positions will work. ULAs were first approved by the faculty in November 2014 to teach in CS50, a course that relies on a strong undergraduate teaching presence. Before the approval, undergraduate students could serve only as peer tutors or graders — either holding office hours or
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know our work is far from done. But we’re excited to join other universities who have partially divested — divest the rest.” On Tuesday, just after the letter’s release, FFY met
with the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility to update the committee on a divestment proposal the group submitted in January, said Nathan Lobel ’17, an FFY mem-
Wilson ’18 — followed by five presidential candidates — Sarah Armstrong ’18, Peter Huang ’18, Carter Helschien ’18, Diksha Brahmbhatt ’18 and Josh Hochman ’18 — sparred in separate debates on how to better incorporate diverse student representation within YCC and
administrative decisions. Candidates shared their visions on issues including how best to ensure direct and robust access to high-level decision makers within the University, as well as how to improve the campus sexual climate. Vice-presidential candi-
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Polls open Thursday for YCC elections. Meet the candidates.
SEE DIVESTMENT PAGE 4
BY DANIELA BRIGHENTI AND VICTOR WANG STAFF REPORTERS
ber who attended the meeting. According to Lobel, the ACIR told FFY during the meeting that Swensen gave partial SEE PROTEST PAGE 4
YCC candidates debate student inclusion, access BY JOEY YE STAFF REPORTER
believes the risks of climate change, like any risks, should be incorporated in the evaluation of investment opportunities. This is not an easy, straightforward task,” Swensen wrote. “However, initiating and continuing a dialogue with our managers about those risks result in more thoughtful consideration