Mason Activist gets Candid on Climate
In 2019, student Ethan Wright spent the entire semester skipping his Friday classes in order to display his discontent with the situation of climate change. His goal being the divestment of $2.03 million that the GMU Foundation has put towards the energy sector and to reinvest that money into sustainable school programs. On the day of the interview with the Broadside writer, Dana Nickel, Wright had already accumulated 84 signatures towards his petition. And although the money that the GMU Foundation has invested into the energy sector is a substantial amount, it only consists of around 1.75% of the foundation's endowment. Though his mom does make him attend his Spanish class every once in a while, Wright feels strongly about skipping to protest for the climate because it sends the message of “why should I be in class when there is no future to be had?” He continues by discussing the intersectionality of the climate crisis discussing the “four main systems of oppression that perpetuates [climate change],” those systems being “colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy, and racism.” In which these systems primarily impact low-income areas and individuals not in the top 1%.