Download 2014 02 - 24 AA.pdf

OSA Assembly Agenda
February 24, 2014 at 4:00 PM
Reeve Memorial Union, Theatre Room 307
I.
Call to Order – Pledge of Allegiance
II.
Roll Call Organizations with Voting Rights:
Present:
Excused:
Absent:
III.
Open Forum -
IV.
Approval of the Agenda -
V.
Approval of the Minutes –
VI.
VII.
VIII.
Guest Speakers –
a. Randy Hedge, Director of Reeve Memorial Union
Officer Reports –
a. OSA Directors –
b. OSA Office Manager – (Rae Ann - [email protected] ) – Titan Tip of the Day
Re-registration open July 1 – Sept 19, 2014 every club/org must go through the
re-registration process annually – pass this on during transition of exec board
c. OSA Advisor – (Petra – [email protected]) d. Speaker Pro-Tempore –(Nicole Lehto – [email protected]) e. Speaker of the Assembly – (Sarah Speigle– [email protected]) –
f. Vice President Pro-Tempore – (Hallie Turnbull– [email protected]) –
g. Vice President – (Jordan Schettle – [email protected]) h. President – (Ryan Hackbarth- [email protected]) –
Presidential Appointments –
OSA 13-019
BE IT RESOLVED: That the OSA Senate and Assembly approved the following Presidential
Appointments and/or recommendations:
1.
Reginald Parson, Search and Screen Committee for the Associate Vice
Chancellor for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs
Sponsored by: Ryan Hackbarth, OSA president
IX.
X.
Unfinished Business –
New Business –
OSA 12-020
IN SUPPORT OF THE OSHKOSH STUDENT ASSOCIATION URGING THAT THE
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN OSHKOSH FOUNDATION PURSUE A PLAN TO
REMOVE FUNDS INVESTED IN FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES AND INVEST IN MORE
SOCIALLY JUST INDUSTRIES
WHEREAS Wisconsin State Statute empowers university student associations with the
“primary responsibility for the formulation and review of policies concerning student life,
services and interests”;
WHEREAS the leaders of 167 countries (including the United States) have agreed that
any warming of the planet above 2°C (3.6°F) would be unsafe, and we have already (as
of 2012) raised the average surface temperature 0.8°C, causing far more damage than
most scientists expected;
WHEREAS according to the Carbon Tracker Institute, the proven coal, oil, and gas
reserves of the top 200 fossil-fuel companies, and countries (e.g. Venezuela or Kuwait)
which act like fossil-fuel companies, equals about 2,795 gigatons of CO2, or five times
the amount we can release to maintain a 2°C limit of planetary warming;
WHEREAS research sponsored by 20 governments around the world suggests that
climate change is already causing 400,000 deaths per year;
WHEREAS the conditions resulting from climate change disproportionately affect
communities of color and low-income communities, and these are the communities who
have done the least to cause it, and as a University we must ensure social and racial
justice by doing all we can to mitigate climate change;
WHEREAS several other colleges have already divested from fossil fuels, such as Unity
College, Sterling College, and Hampshire College, and others such as Middlebury,
Swarthmore College, and twenty other Universities have entered into formal processes to
consider divestment, and Harvard passed a student resolution where 72% of students
voted in favor of divestment;
WHEREAS Madison, WI and Bayfield, WI, in addition to numerous other cities and
counties, have committed to fossil fuel divestment;
WHEREAS Carbon Tracker observes that there is a valid and strong risk of stranded
assets in the fossil fuel industry, since only 20% of the world’s fossil fuel reserves can be
burned if we were to stay below 2°C; we are living in an age of a carbon bubble, where
fossil fuel markets are overcapitalized;
WHEREAS numerous financial experts have concluded that it is possible to divest from
fossil fuels and still earn strong returns and an industry study by Aperio Investment
Management found that the theoretical risk to return from fossil fuel divestment is
.0044%;
WHEREAS investment experts have acknowledged that divestment is possible for large
institutions, even ones using commingled funds;
WHEREAS, UW-Oshkosh and Chancellor Wells signed on to the American University
and College President’s Climate Commitment in 2008, which says “We further believe
that colleges and universities that exert leadership in addressing climate change will
stabilize and reduce their long-term energy costs, attract excellent students and faculty,
attract new sources of funding, and increase the support of alumni and local communities.
Accordingly, we commit our institutions to taking the following steps in pursuit of
climate neutrality.”
WHEREAS UW-Oshkosh, in 2002, endorsed the Earth Charter Initiative, which states as
its mission “to promote the transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society
founded on a shared ethical framework that includes respect and care for the community
of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic
justice, democracy, and a culture of peace.”
WHEREAS former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, stated “climate
change...is the greatest emerging humanitarian crisis of our time”;
BE IT RESOLVED that the Oshkosh Student Association (OSA) calls upon the
University Of Wisconsin Oshkosh Foundation (The Foundation) to immediately stop any
new investment in fossil fuel companies; and to ensure that within five years none of its
directly held or commingled assets include holdings of either public equities or corporate
bonds in fossil fuel companies as determined by the Carbon Tracker list;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that OSA requests the President and Board of Trustees of
The Foundation to prepare a report and options for investing the endowment in a way that
further maximizes the positive impact of the fund by seeking out investments in
opportunities to limit the effects of burning fossil fuels or help to mitigate its effects
including, but not limited to, clean technology, renewable energy, sustainable companies
or projects, and sustainable communities;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the OSA requests the President and Board of
Trustees of the Foundation to release bi-annual updates, available to the public, detailing
progress made towards full divestment.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the OSA revisits this resolution in two years to
ensure compliance and follow-through from all involved parties.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be delivered to Chancellor
Richard Wells; Vice-Chancellor Thomas Sonnleitner; President Rathjen, Foundation; and
to all sitting Board Members and Directors of The Foundation.
Author: UW-Oshkosh Change the Climate Campaign
Sponsors: Student Environmental Action Coalition; College Democrats; Political Science
Student Association
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
Committee Reports –
Discussion –
Announcements –
Adjourn -