The Senate met this past Sunday for one of the year’s final meetings, considering the transition into next year, confirming appointments to the Council on Student Affairs, considering the leadership structure of next year’s Power & Privilege Symposium, and passing a resolution on divestment.
Resolution SRS 15.4 regarding Divestment was passed, urging the Trustees to “recognize the recognize the significant negative impact on our endowment that divestment in the strongest sense could have”– a conflicting and complicating voice to the recently passed student referendum, which urges Whitman’s divestment from the fossil fuel industry. The resolution suggests a weaker form of divestment, capping the amount of fossil fuel exposure in the endowment to 1%, and further urges a re-evaluation of the financial impacts of divestment after three years.
Molly Unsworth ‘18, Dennie Young ‘17, and Eloise Willemsen ‘16 have been appointed to the Council on Student Affairs, with Blake Landenburg ‘17 and Lorenzo Silva ‘17 as alternates. Council members are assigned to serve for the duration of their time at Whitman, and are selected through a highly detailed and thoughtful process considering the candidates’ ability to understand and operate within the complicated, confidential, and sensitive nature of the Council’s activities. The selected candidates bring both diverse experiences and an emotional intelligence which will serve the Council well over the next few years.