DSU discusses divestment at town hall

Audience of approximately 20 hears opposing perspectives on alternative energy strategies

While this machine appeared in the Student Union Building over the weekend, the DSU does not currently have any investments in bitcoin. (Photo by Jesse Ward)

The night before Dalhousie’s Board of Governor’s votes on whether or not to divest their endowment fund of investments in fossil fuels, the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) held a town hall discussion on divestment to share information and announce progress on the topic.

Beginning at 6 p.m., fewer than 20 people total attended the meeting in the SUB lobby as attendance wavered throughout. Fewer than five non-executive members of DSU council were present.

Two representatives of the Divest Dal activist group spoke about the origins and the state of their movement. They addressed the questions of audience members, some of whom were critical to Divest Dal’s approach towards promoting alternative energy sources.

Jennifer Nowoselski, DSU Vice President (Internal), spoke about the DSU’s progress with divesting their own investment portfolio.

It was revealed that information on the size and location of the DSU’s investments in the top 200 fossil fuel and oil and gas companies will be available on Thursday, Nov. 27, when the union’s Investment Manager will meet with their Board of Operations with a report on their portfolio.

The Gazette was present to livetweet the proceedings and engage with readers. Check out the Storify below to follow our coverage as it happened.