Student Union

Last night, SU Senate unanimously passed a resolution advocated for the renaming of the University's Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization, which is attached below.  Thank you to all the students who came out to show your passion and support, and moving forward we aspire to continue addressing issues that are of such great interest to you.

Senate also inducted 12 senators for the new term, 7 of which are new to Senate (denoted with a *):

Architecture - Taylor Epskamp*
Art - Kelsey Eng
Arts & Sciences - Ross Passo*, Mamatha Challa, Alex Cooper*, Michael Post, Dan Robinson*, Eric Schwartz, Jacqui Germain*
Business - Jason Yakabu
Engineering - Pat Kelly*, Cody Katz*

Finally, Senate held our internal elections for this new term last night:

Speaker of the Senate - Chase Sackett
Academic Affairs Committee Chair - Michelle Chen
Campus Services Committee Chair - Liz Jordan
University Initiatives Committee Chair - Kirsten Miller

Thank you again to everyone who came last night, and please let us know however we can help you with an issue on campus!  As a preview, next week WUPD Chief Don Strom will be coming to our meeting and discussing ways to address the issue of racial profiling on campus.

This Wednesday at 9PM in Simon 113, SU Senate will vote on a proposed resolution, sponsored by Senators Jake Novick and Jason Yakabu, to advocate for the renaming of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization, on the basis that the term "clean coal" is an industry marketing term and that usage of such wording may invite doubt regarding the integrity of the research conducted by the Consortium.  The full resolution is attached below, along with the full agenda for Senate this week.  As always, we hope to see you there to let Senate know your thoughts on the legislation.

UPDATE: Media hits about the Flash Mob

Sierra Club Radio
Missouri Power Shift http://www.missouri.powershift09.org/
National Power Shift http://www.powershift09.org...
River Front Times http://bit.ly/2haqSG
Sierra Student Coalition http://tinyurl.com/y8m4acr
It's Getting Hot In Here http://tinyurl.com/ylb7v49
Campus Progress http://tinyurl.com/yzf83of
Student Life http://www.studlife.com/
Student Union www.su.wustl.edu
Earth Stream  ‪http://www.earth-stream.com/Earth/Pollution-and-Warming/VIDEO
WashU-flashmob-confronts-Coal-Executives_18_196__214066.html‬
STL Today http://tinyurl.com/yjagf3k
Rainforest Action Network http://understory.ran.org/2009/11/04/flashmob-at-americas-energy-future-...
Earth Blips http://earthblips.dailyradar.com/video/green-action-flashmob/
KWMU/NPR http://tinyurl.com/ylh8rse
St. Louis Activist Hub
Green Corps Environmental Leadership
Responsible Endowments Coalition

NOTE: This blog post is courtesy of Will Fischer and Green Action

Something loud is afoot on our sleepy campus in St. Louis. Washington University students are beginning to re-discover what connects them. Students that have never successfully worked together have just executed the largest direct action on our campus. The target: big coal’s influence on our institution.

At the end of this summer, Washington University appointed two new members to its board of trustees, Gregory Boyce, CEO of Peabody Energy, and Steven F. Leer, CEO of Arch Coal. As you most likely know, they are the one-two of coal mining who together preside over 13 billion tons of proven coal reserves. They are both deeply involved in mountaintop coal mining, destroying communities and ecosystems across Appalachia. For years they have lobbied against positive protective legislation, including the Clean Air and Clean Water acts. Now, they check our chancellor’s every action and shape the future of our institution. This comes in the wake of the formation of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization (CCCU) last December. This research group, funded by (guess) Peabody, Arch Coal, and the local utility Ameren, plans to build a 1 megawatt demonstration carbon capture & sequestration plant on our campus. To read about the truth, see here.

And this last Monday, our administration organized “America’s Energy Future,” a symposium to which Steven F. Leer of Arch Coal and Fred Palmer of Peabody Energy, among others, were invited to discuss our energy “future.” It was a five-hour-long symposium culminating in a reception in the new student center (to see a program description, see here). We saw presentations on “Green Coal” where earth movers the size of houses were depicted moseying through fields. There were a couple champions of reality, but the overarching theme was deceit. There was nearly zero representation from renewable energy companies. What is the “future” according to our administration? Well, it looks a lot like our present: coal, oil, and nuclear. This is not OUR Energy Future.

To coincide with the conference, we held a rally, a press conference, an alternate symposium titled “OUR Energy Future,” and executed a silent flash mob and banner-drop to challenge Big Coal on campus!

We had unsuccessfully lobbied to change the name of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization and remained silent since the appointing of the trustees. We really couldn’t take it anymore. We saw an opportunity- and they just made it so easy.

A coalition of student groups, including the student-run farm The Burning Kumquat, Students for Endowment Transparency, and Green Action planned a direct action to challenge our university’s failure to recognize the legitimacy of renewable energy. During their plush reception in our student center, over 100 students entered the building and dispersed themselves among the assembled crowd. Along the balconies lining the reception were five two-person banner drop teams. On a signal, four teams dropped their banners over the balcony, baring messages including “Coal Is Never Clean” and “Our Energy Future.” At the same time, the 100 assembled students raised their fists to display yellow wristbands made of global warming crime scene tape and held up yellow signs with the “Beyond Coal” logo. The final banner was dropped over the main staircase bearing the words “Power Beyond Coal” painted among students’ signatures. A student addressed the silent crowd with a megaphone, “We present to you a banner bearing our signatures as a petition on behalf of this and future generations. We will not stand aside while executives from Arch Coal and Peabody paint a dirty energy future for our school and our nation. We believe that America's real energy future uses renewable, socially responsible energy sources," and invited them to our alternate symposium. It was fantastic- ethereal- and it’s all on tape.

Where do we go now? Our Student Union Senate plans to pass a resolution denouncing Washington University’s use of the “clean coal” marketing slogan, supporting Monday’s direct action, and demanding the university change the name of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization. We will maintain the alliances we have developed and work on involving more students to feed off of the energy we have created. We will push forward, gaining momentum in our rally against the unjust actions and policies of our administration. This is the beginning- AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO KICK ASH!

This Wednesday, SU Senate will see two resolutions and vote to confirm a new Vice President of Administration.  The first resolution advocates for an pilot program for expanded hours in the Village, and the second advocates for Washington University to change the name for the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization and also pursue the development of renewable energy sources.  Senate will vote on the passage of both resolutions, which are attached below. 

Nate Ferguson, the current VP of Programming, has been recommended by the executives to be appointed as the new VP of Administration.  After Treasury confirms their selection on Tuesday night, Senate will vote to confirm a candidate for the position.