DIVEST UMW: Divestment sit-ins are on the forefront of a new social movement
We wake up on the hard floor of the administrative building at the University of Mary Washington for the fourth day — backs aching, emotions draining — and we question why we are here. We share one trait: we are all Virginia college students. We attend the University of Mary Washington, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, College of William and Mary, James Madison, Old Dominion, Christopher Newport and Virginia Commonwealth Universities, but this week we all occupy the same tile floor. Why did we choose to confine ourselves in this cramped hallway, monitored by guards and physically barred from the outside world? The decision to host a sit-in at UMW was neither lighthearted nor easy. It was made by desperate students working tirelessly, through every possible avenue, to make our voices heard by our university governing boards. We have received sustained denial.