Creative "coal"- ition calls for transparency

Author: Logan Brown

Recently, on any given Tuesday in a Middlebury dining hall, you might have looked up from your sandwich to see 50 students scattered across the cafeteria frozen in odd positions with coal in hand. You might be sprinkling an ice cream cone and become distracted by the voices of fellow students shouting an altered rendition of "The Circle of Life." Or maybe you were interrupted by a costumed parade of students cheering and shouting, holding signs in a plethora of languages reading, "Where is the Endowment?" One might feel many emotions while viewing such a spectacles - entertained, curious, annoyed, utterly confused - and for this group on campus, that is exactly the point. They want to get us talking, and boy, are we talking.

Their first demonstration, "Freeze for Coal," occurred two Tuesdays before spring break in Ross dining hall. Participants employed a technique called "stop improv," in which a group of people freezes together in unison for a set period of time. Photographers were placed around the dining hall to capture the frozen students, and these snapshots would later be used to create part of a photo journal published in The Campus. The demonstrators knew the event would create a great deal of confusion among students, so they all wore unifying green strings and stuck around after to speak with anyone curious about their purpose. Since this initial demonstration, two even wilder demonstrations have occurred. "Coal the Musical" in Atwater Dining Hall, and "Cirque du Coal-nay" in FIC.

Although all the demonstrations seem to have a common thread - coal - you still might have questions regarding the goals of the demonstrations. If you asked any of the very knowledgeable students participating about their purpose, they would tell you that they are working to make Middlebury's currently "opaque" endowment more transparent. For those of us who have not yet attended Sunday Night Group (SNG), a transparent endowment means that Middlebury makes the nature of all of its investments public. If our investments are made public or at least available to a group of students concerned about the environment, we can ensure that we invest with environmental sustainability in mind.

The actual demonstrations are meant to start dialogues among students present and the photo journals and media exposure are meant to continue that dialogue with students, faculty and, most importantly, the the Board of Trustees. The demonstrations stem from SNG, The Advisory Committee of Socially Responsible Investing (ACSRI) and the many Middlebury students who came back from Power Shift fired up about making a realistic difference on our campus. The students involved in the demonstrations intentionally took a creative approach to their activism to avoid any harsh pointing of fingers, and to make sure people were having so much fun they would keep coming back for more.

The group on campus that focuses specifically on this issue is the ACSRI. Nate Blumenshine '10.5, a member of the group, explained that there are three approaches to socially responsible investing.

Currently, the only approach that Middlebury uses is divestment and investment screening, techniques applied to three percent or less of the total endowment. Divestment is the reduction of some type of investment for financial or ethical reasons. For example, after the genocide in Darfur, Middlebury stopped investing in companies connected with the Sudanese government that are not calling for an end to the genocide. The second approach Middlebury could take is called "positive investing." Smart investors diversify their portfolios over many different industries; one of those industries is green technology. Middlebury could put a larger portion of its investments into that industry which could in turn create more business for those companies and a ripple effect could occur. The third approach - according to Blumenshine the most desirable - approach would not require the college to change the way it invested at all. Middlebury could engage in shareholder activism. For example, if Middlebury invested in a coal company, Middlebury would work directly with that company to reform their mining practices. Recently, many student groups (including one from Bard College) participated in shareholder activism with McDonald's to ensure that the potatoes they purchased were free of a harmful pesticide.

This third approach is idealistic but practical. As far as any tangible progress, the students engaged in the activism are pleased with the discussions that their actions prompted and have contacted a small number of the trustees. They have received mixed responses. Although some trustees seem extremely enthusiastic about having a transparent endowment, some might hesitate because they fear that by releasing their investments, other groups or individuals could copy the strategy by which Middlebury hires investors. Another challenge for our endowment lies in commingled in funds. For example, our investment company also invests for several other colleges in the Northeast and it is possible that some of our funds are combined in investments, making it difficult to determine which funds belong to which clients. However, Blumenshine explains that likely those colleges would have similar values to Middlebury's and if we could get dialogues going with those schools, we could engage in socially responsible investing as an even more powerful, united force.

According to GreenReportCard.com, Middlebury is one of very few schools to receive an overall grade of an A- on environmental initiatives. Middlebury is already ahead of the rest of the pack in environmental awareness. The College received an A within eight out of nine categories, including shareholder engagement, investment priorities, transportation, student involvement, green building, food and recycling, climate change, and energy and administration. However, endowment transparency received a D. Call Middlebury students overachievers, but why not make the endowment transparent and go for the A+?