How to Break the Typical Campus Oligarchy
I love the smell of crisp reams of paper. I know. I’m a purported environmentalist. However, I’ve come to appreciate that ink-dipped musky scent of bleached wood. It’s the smell that a young organiser thrives on. It’s the start of a new campaign. It’s the start of a new conversation. It’s the start of a really fucking long day of flyering.
I love watching people try to decipher the writing on your shirt. First they notice the small sheet of paper in your hand. Then, they’ll notice your mouth widen at the creases. Their left eyebrow raises a millimeter higher. Their pace quickens. You whip out a flyer grazing the ridges on your fingertips as your arm extends its stretch. “Hey, do you care about climate change?” You’re greeted with a pale face, pursed lips and a pinch of reality. People don’t care about climate change unless it affects them. Maybe if I too had never experienced the tiniest bit of racialisation through exotification than I wouldn’t be handing out flyers about a tactic to mitigate climate change. I’m really glad I did get to though. It’s like active people watching.
Now, I don’t think flyering is a very effective form of spreading your message, but for me, it’s incredibly nostalgic. It’s the tactic you use when you’re up against a right-wing media monopoly and an ultra-conservative student guild. It’s one of the many tactics that Fossil Free QUT used for two years; until, we realised that maybe we needed to stop flyering so much and start engaging with those people who have already endured the one minute hey we’re a climate action group on campus conversation. However, we never really made it to second gear.
We had this great timeline where we had built enough power in our small group to actually start training ourselves to branch off into an Organising, Media & Comms and Lobbying group. We finally had power to hold down the clutch and move into second gear. We could finally start employing more effective strategies to push QUT to divest from Fossil Fuels! Then…QUT sort of committed to divestment.
So why didn’t Fossil Free QUT follow that generic model that we’re told social campaigns follow? Or did we and I just didn’t realize? I honestly thought that QUT would be the last University in Australia to say the words “We recognise our important responsibility to be an institution that is not only environmentally and socially responsible but also financially sustainable. In practical terms, this means that QUT is committed to an orderly and considered transition away from investment in fossil fuel companies while simultaneously ensuring that QUT continues to build the broader funding base essential for our future.” So how did we accomplish what we did?
The trials and tribulations of Fossil Free QUT
The eight stages of a social movement by Bill Moyers:
- Normal times
- Prove the failure of institutions
- Ripening conditions
- Social movement take-off
- Perception of failure
- Majority public support
- Success
- Continuing the struggle
So in late 2014, Fossil Free QUT came into being. I can only really speak from March 2015 onwards where I saw an article in The Australian. The coverphoto had 8 students holding placards saying “Adani you’re not welcome at QUT.” I think in reality in took me a couple of months to actually understand how divestment worked as a tool for social, political and economic change. If you’re a law student who has never really questioned the fundamental basis of why laws exist then be ready to have every ventricle in your brain burst into a million pieces of confetti. I may touch on the validity of white trauma at a later stage.
Stage One: Normal times
In this stage, relatively few people care about the University’s investments in fossil fuels. I feel like that article in the Australian was not only a poignant moment in my life but also the inception of stage two.
Stage Two: Prove the Failure of Institutions
After highlighting QUT’s sponsorship ties with Adani, Fossil Free QUT embarked on a student petition signature mission. We managed to raise just over 1000 student signatures through flyering and a handful of lecture loves (talking at the front of lecture theatres).
Stage Three: Ripening Conditions
At the end of the semester we hosted our first big rally outside QUT. We decided to play a game of tug of war. Coal (suit) vs Students. The rally went down extraordinarily well and we all realised, woah, people at QUT actually care about climate change!
Stage Four: Takeoff
We’ve had two take-offs. The first one we had was in Sem 2, 2015 where we received 120 Academic signatures in two days calling on the University to divest from fossil fuels. Now, I was actually in Canada at the time and was fortunate enough to be a part of another winning campaign at uOttawa (Sidenote: I find it really interesting that the leading Universities in the Divestment movement were in Canberra — capital city of Australia, and Ottawa — the capital city of Canada).
Slight divergence. I would like to point out at that uOttawa also had a group of 8 people, maybe 4 at any one time who were committed to the outcome of actions. However, they had quite a positive relationship with the University and were able to sit on panel discussions hosted by uOttawa about the topic of divestment. Furthermore, the student union funded Fossil Free uOttawa (free shirts are definitely the easiest way to promote and advertise your cause on campus). Alas, I think the real game changer was the ability for any student to spectate Board of Governors Meetings. Before meetings Fossil Free uOttawa handed out open letters, fact sheets and climate change reports to members of the board and consistently and consecutively turned up to meetings. This ensured that divestment was always on the mind of the oligarchy.
Reflecting on student engagement at QUT: Fossil Free QUT is the largest and for a long time was the only group on campus that was talking about climate change. I think (and at least hope) that some deeper issues of colonisation, dispossession and cultural genocide were also acknowledged in our campaign but when we still hold meetings in white institutionalized spaces I don’t really think Fossil Free QUT can really say we were/are fighting for climate justice. However, we’re consistently working on this and riding the fine line between not wanting to be tokensitic but then ending up being paternalistic.
Our largest struggle was against Epic (aka young liberals) who have controlled the student guild for the past 6 years. Furthermore, there is no Environmental Collective, there is no social rights hub nor safe spaces on campus for marginalised peoples.
Where is the women’s room? #beckymoment.
Fossil Free QUT is definitely and still is an island in an archaic archipelago.
Whilst I was still in Canada an incredible victory was won. Fossil Free QUT managed to push the University into creating a sub-committee to evaluate their investment portfolio. So with the Academic Letter momentum we saddled up with every other island we could find and asked them to sign onto a Club Open Letter. We reached the support of 25 student clubs and the Fossil Free QUT campaign had well and truly taken-off!
Riding the High of Take-off
Two weeks later we infiltrated a student forum and asked our Vice Chancellor, Peter Coaldrake why QUT continues to invest in fossil fuels when it’s very own academics are telling them of the it’s ruinous antiquity. To no avail, Coaldrake said “QUT has no direct investments in the fossil fuel industry.”
Yeah, we already know that. What about QUT’s investments wrapped up in the Queensland Investment Corporation?
Two weeks after the student forum we did a banner drop and supported Fossil Free UQ in their occupation of Hoj’s office as part of Flood The Campus. This was one of those highly anticipated and well organised moments that only on reflection (actually whilst writing this) that we showed the collective power of Australian Fossil Free Universities. I know we get really wrapped up in our own campaigns, our own goals and own achievements but there is something pretty special about how despite geographical barriers we connected with one another and built power to win. Shit. I’m inspired everyday by folks down in Sydney and Melbourne because I saw them in a kickass action and followed them on Instagram. These pockets of Fossil Free student groups dotting downunder are fueling more than the possibility of a clean energy future. We’re actually creating a more democratic decision making process in our University’s and in turn our communities. We’re redefining our rights as students, academics and alumni in a place we spend and have spent a significant portion of our life.
On the theme of time, in Week 12 we pulled off our 5th action for the semester! It wasn’t even divestment related. Our University decided it would be a good idea to host an Oil and Gas Symposium Beyond 2025. So, being (at that stage) the only group on campus tackling the issue of climate change we decided to create a mock oil spill on campus. A couple of the most fearless chicks I know and my angry little shell of MTV inspired feminism blocked the entrance to the symposium and gained our first 30 second TV spot on Channel 10. In fact, the journos didn’t have time to write some warped conservative tale of events so we had our exact message broadcast loud and clear. QUT is compromising student’s futures.
Stage Five: Perception of Failure
Semester 1 2016 was like a bucket of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie, it had a bold flavour but didn’t cut through the status quo as much as we were hoping for.
Now, I was going to embark on talking about our perception of failure. But to be honest, there were probably only a couple of people who were feeling disheartened — the real troopers who instigated the campaign two years ago.
Two years is a long fight but some divestment campaigns have been running for over 5 years. Whilst I’m not personally invested in the fossil fuel divestment movement nearly as much as I was when I first joined (this is just because I have 99 problems with the world and the fossil fuel industry is just one) I mentally prepared for Fossil Free QUT to be calling on the Uni to divest for at least another year.
Stage Six: Majority Public Support & Success
With the support of over 1000 students, 120 academics and 25 student clubs we managed to finally get the topic of divestment raised at the Council Meeting. We all thought they would knock back the idea entirely or create another “green” endowment fund. Then one unsuspecting Friday evening, Peter Coaldrake sent a statement to all staff members stating that QUT was engaging with QIC to orderly transition its investments away from from the fossil fuel industry.
Stage Eight: Consolidation and Moving On
I was shocked and you can read my previous blog if you want to delve into the anxious life of Carly.
What I hope other groups around Australia can take from this is that we won because of you. Post-flood the campus I noticed a certain relentlessness in the movement. Each campaign felt that they had a responsibility to fellow campaigns and campaigners across Australia to really give this divestment thing a red hot go! We’re skill sharing, disseminating knowledge and reading more about the intricacies of organizing than ever before!
Fossil Free QUT’s win was contingent on a number of factors, all of which we aren’t able to accurately pinpoint. Our win is not a result of any one individual. Everyone involved in any social justice movement in Brisbane or any Fossil Free Universities campaign in Australia should go and eat some cake. Right now! We didn’t work harder than anyone else, we didn’t apply some magical tactics and we didn’t have overwhelming community support for divestment. We were present.
In the last year we showed up to every Investments and Borrowings Committee and Council Meeting and told as many people about divestment as we could. A University’s decision to divest can come at anytime. Pace yourself, look out for one another and know that even the smallest of campaigns are powerful!
Some campaigns may feel like they’re plateauing, maybe a few core members have stepped away and you feel like you’re back to square one. Keep in mind that despite being an environmentalist it’s ok to really like flyering.