Divest DU held a rally for climate justice on Friday, April 21, in celebration of Earth Day and in response to DU’s Board of Trustees’ decision not to divest made in January.

The event was  held in front of Anderson Academic Commons and offered Illegal Pete’s, as well as a space for sustainability-minded students to discuss the recent climate change-related happenings at DU.

The group planned on marching into the Board of Trustees meeting that was to be held in the Special Events Room of the library, but they discovered last minute that the meeting had been moved elsewhere. By the time the group discovered where the meeting was being held, the Board had already left.

Instead of marching into the Board of Trustees’ meeting, the group gave their speech to those who attended the rally. Several other groups also gave speeches to show their disapproval of the Board’s decision, including Native Student Alliance and Students for Sustainable Food.

Divest DU’s statement:

We as Divest DU are extremely disappointed in the BOT’s behavior on Friday. They are a body that is tasked with the betterment of this university yet cannot be held accountable even for the implementation of their own plans. Boasting “sustainability” without action backing it up is yet another example of the way student voice is silenced on campus. Supposedly green initiatives will never be manifested if the board is unwilling to engage with student activists. There is no time for evasion; we demand climate justice now.