The Activists of Fossil Free MIT

On Thursday, the student activists of Fossil Free MIT ended their sit-in in front of MIT President Rafael Reif’s office. Over the 116 days of this action, they showed 4 essential qualities of successful activists.

Breaking expectations. When I came to MIT three years ago, everyone told me that MIT students are rarely engaged in politics or activism. Fossil Free MIT changed that narrative. The Boston Globe’s March 1 story on the sit-in quoted MIT professor John D. Sterman, a leading scholar on public attitudes towards climate change: “There’s this attitude [at MIT] that there’s a technological solution to every problem in the world…It’s great to see our students become politically active after decades of apathy and self-centered careerism.”

Perseverance. The students began their sit-in on October 22, over four months ago. At first, they took shifts 24 hours a day. Even after they shifted to going home at night in January, they maintained a significant presence over a long haul.

Relationship Building. These student activists were focused on engaging the administration in further negotiation, not making adversaries of them. They made their point by showing their presence outside the offices, but did not attempt to blockade or take over the space.

Pragmatism. The students called upon MIT halt further investments in the 200 fossil fuel (almost all coal and oil) companies possessing the largest fossil fuel reserves in the world and to divest its current holdings in these companies within five years. MIT has not agreed to divest, but did agree that the university will aspire to become carbon-neutral as soon as possible, establish a climate action advisory committee, and hold a forum about ethical questions related to climate change. These three goals were part of the Climate Conversation report, but were not put into action before the students’ negotiations. While they remain dedicated to their larger goals, the students know that activists sometimes need to pause and celebrate an incremental step or claim a partial victory.

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