WPI Student Speak Against ExxonMobil Commencement Speaker

Worcester Polytechnic Institute chose ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as its 2011 commencement speaker.ExxonMobil calls for continued use of fossil fuels beyond any limit that climate scientists believe is compatible with a safe future. Graduating students and others were outraged to discover that ExxonMobil contributed almost $16 million to climate change-denying think tanks between 1998 and 2008.

In protest of ExxonMobil's outrageous actions, WPI students organized a counterpoint commencement (visible here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PLDF3BD11382B0A32F) after the normal commencement, which was attended by ~170 people and featured noted sustainability writer Richard Heinberg. Eight dissenting seniors also came late to their commencement to skip Tillerson's speech, demonstrating that they would not accept his blessing as they entered the adult world.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• university
• student
• climatechange
• environmentalism
• activism
• oil