Winter 2015 Week 1

Page 1

Thursday, January 8, 2015

All Sports Cancelled

Listen Up

How the school replaced the Athletic Department

Santa Clara student releases album

OPINION, PAGE 6

SCENE, PAGE 4

Since 1922

www.thesantaclara.org

@thesantaclara

One free copy

@thesantaclara

University Invests in Fossil Fuels Student coalition puts pressure on officials for portfolio transparency Mallory Miller

The Santa Clara Throughout the Silicon Valley and the nation, Santa Clara is recognized as a pioneer in advocating for sustainable practices. Yet, the institution remains invested in energy companies whose pollutants are a substantial cause of global warming. Last month, a panel of four individuals presented their professional views on the divestment debate at a discussion hosted by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Students, faculty and members of the panel urged the university to pull any money invested in oil, coal and natural gas companies, also known as fossil

fuel extraction companies. Chief Investment Officer John Kerrigan discussed the financial concerns of the university’s investment in the energy industry.

Prior Pushes for Change In the fall of 2013, two campus environmental justice groups formed Fossil Free SCU. The coalition has been pushing Santa Clara to join the ranks of other American college campuses that have divested funds from fossil fuel extraction companies. The group’s ultimate goal is to prompt Santa Clara to freeze any new investments in fossil fuel extraction companies. They also aim to convince the administration to divest from any direct and commingled funds, including fossil fuel stock and corporate bonds, within five years. Commingled funds are portfolios consisting of sums of money from various investors. Students in the coalition have met with Chief Investment Officer John Kerrigan six times in the past year, according to senior Lisa McMonagle, a student leader in the Fossil Free SCU movement.

“We still don’t know what stocks we hold in fossil fuels, which we are still really, really interested in because we want to look into the companies that we hold (stock in) and see what they are actually doing,” said McMonagle. According to Kerrigan, “well less” than half of the 15 percent Santa Clara has invested in real assets — or real estate, commodities and energy investments — is in the energy sector. The university still has not pledged to divest, nor has it disclosed the sum of its investments or which companies it has invested in. At the panel, Kerrigan discussed the university’s endowment, which is the money the school makes from investing. He read excerpts of the Investment Policy Statement, including a call “to respect the environment and preserve it for the well-being of future generations by not investing in corporations that have been cited for repeated or gross ecological violations.” See CAMPUS, Page 3

GRAPHIC — MALU VELTZE

“Lab-on-a-Chip” Detects Dangerous Toxin

Investors needed to fund new portable, affordable device Nicolas Sonnenburg The Santa Clara

A group of Santa Clara faculty and students has produced technology that can identify arsenic levels in water. They call it the “Lab-on-a-Chip.” Extremely harmful to human health, arsenic has proven itself to be a difficult element to detect, as it is odorless and colorless. Its effects often take years to surface, and consequently, small, developing communities can drink from contaminated sources for years before realizing that their water is tainted.

Existing efforts to detect arsenic are very limited. Lab grade equipment available to detect this toxin, besides being expensive and cumbersome, can only be used by trained professionals. Led by Elizabeth Sweeny and Dr. Rahda Basu of the Frugal Innovation Lab, Santa Clara’s team has produced several small devices to accomplish the difficult task. Using several types of metals that react differently when placed in contaminated water, information about how much arsenic is present can be transmitted to cellphones. The data is then added to a database map that users can access to see previous discoveries of contaminated wells. The students and faculty hope to provide their technology to non-governmental organizations and charities so that it See ARSENIC, Page 3

COURTESY OF ELIZABETH SWEENY

The “Lab-on-a-Chip” contains metals that react when placed in water contaminated with arsenic. Arsenic is difficult to identify because it is odorless and colorless and can pollute water supplies for long periods of time before being detected.

Women Fall Victim to Late Run Basketball loses to San Diego SPORTS, PAGE 7

WHAT’S INSIDE

News.................................. 1 – 3 Scene.......................................4 Opinion....................................6 Sports............................... 7 – 8


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.