April, 07 2016, 11:30am EDT
Clinton Tells Student Concerned about Fossil Fuel Donations "Go Read the Articles"
Pittsburgh, PA
Last week, in response to an activist asking Hillary Clinton if she will refuse money from fossil fuel lobbyists, the Democratic presidential candidate asserted that she "is so sick of the Sanders campaign lying" about her. Last night, Sage Lincoln, a senior at the University of Pittsburgh and a leader with Pitt Divest, followed up at a campaign event asking Clinton if she would refuse donations from registered fracking lobbyists. In response, the former Secretary of State laughed and told Lincoln to "go read the articles."
Reports confirm that Clinton's biggest campaign bundlers have come from fossil fuel lobbyists. According to a recent report from Greenpeace, fossil fuel interests have pumped more than $4.5 million into Clinton's campaign and supportive super PACs during the 2016 election cycle. The Clinton campaign has received donations from industry lobbyists including ExxonMobil's Theresa Fariello.
"I grew up in Pittsburgh, and despite having no family history of asthma me and two of my siblings have developed it. One of the reasons for the bad air quality is clear: there is fracking occurring everywhere in Southwestern Pennsylvania. It's in our county parks, our backyards, and even within a stone's throw of the nearby Mars School District. Climate change is dramatically impacting us globally and locally, and we must do everything in our power to curb emissions." said Sage Lincoln. "We need strong governmental action now -- this includes rejecting money from fossil fuel lobbyists."
Young people across the country have been asking about Clinton's ties to the fossil fuel industry since July. Days after the conclusion of the Paris climate talks, Clinton vowed to look into fossil fuel donations to her campaign.
"While Clinton laughs this off, voters who care about our climate and the influence of money in politics are still really disturbed by her continued acceptance of these industry donations," said Yong Jung Cho, spokesperson for 350 Action. "If Clinton wants to prove she is a climate leader that will keep fossil fuels in the ground, she needs to pledge to refuse these donations, and she needs to do it now."
Video: https://bit.ly/22f8pNo
Full Transcript:
Sage Lincoln: Hi, will you reject money from registered fracking lobbyists?
Hillary Clinton: [Laughs]
Lincoln: Will you?
Clinton: Go read the articles, I've debunked all of that.
Lincoln: We've done our research.
350 Action is the independent political action arm of the non-profit, non-partisan climate justice group 350.org.
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In a decision that the largest U.S. Muslim civil rights organization called "cowardly," the University of Southern California announced Monday that it would not allow a Muslim valedictorian to speak at its commencement ceremony, citing safety concerns.
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"USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a disingenuous concern for 'security."
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Several groups had called for Tabassum's removal as valedictorian entirely because they argued the link that she shared, a slideshow titled "Free Palestine," was antisemitic.
"Trojans for Israel strongly supports the right to free expression—including informed criticism of the Israeli government. However, rhetoric that denies the right of the Jewish people to self-determination or calls for the destruction of the only Jewish state in the world must be denounced as antisemitic bigotry," a campus group wrote in a social media post calling on USC to choose a new valedictorian.
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Tabassum toldNBC Los Angeles that she had added the link to her Instagram bio five years ago—long before Hamas' deadly October 7 attack on Israel and Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza—and that she had not written the text herself.
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"The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement," Guzman said in the university announcement. "We cannot ignore the fact that similar risks have led to harassment and even violence at other campuses."
Guzman continued that he had spoken with the university's Department of Public Safety and campus security teams.
"After careful consideration, we have decided that our student valedictorian will not deliver a speech at commencement," Guzman said. "While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety."
The provost maintained that this was not a free speech issue.
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"Because I am not aware of any specific threats against me or the university, because my request for the details underlying the university's threat assessment has been denied, and because I am not being provided any increased safety to be able to speak at commencement, there remain serious doubts about whether USC's decision to revoke my invitation to speak is made solely on the basis of safety," Tabassum said.
Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles (CAIR-LA) executive director Hussam Ayloush also cast doubt on the university's motives in a statement.
"USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a disingenuous concern for 'security,'" Ayloush said. "Asna is an incredibly accomplished student whose academic and extracurricular accomplishments made her the ideal and historic recipient of this year's valedictorian's honor. The university can, should, and must ensure a safe environment for graduation rather than taking the unprecedented step of cancelling a valedictorian's speech."
"The dishonest and defamatory attacks on Asna are nothing more than thinly-veiled manifestations of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, which have been weaponized against college students across the country who speak up for human rights—and for Palestinian humanity," Ayloush continued.
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Ayloush argued that USC's decision to cancel Tabassum's speech "empowers voices of hate and censorship, violates USC's obligation to protect its students, and sends a terrible signal to both Muslim students at USC and all students who dare to express support for Palestinian humanity."
Washington Post columnist and Columbia adjunct Karen Attiah also saw the university's decision as a setback for academic freedom.
"What is happening at USC shows that the credibility/legitimacy of many liberal institutions died in Gaza," Attiah wrote on social media. "Western journalistic objectivity died in Gaza. True academic freedom died in Gaza. Do we see how much violence it takes to uphold an imperial status quo?"
Writer and editor Tom Gara called out the university for the discrepancy between its actions and its course offerings.
"Incredible story. USC offers a minor in 'resistance to genocide,' this girl minored in it, was named valedictorian, and then they cancelled her speech because she might talk about genocide," Gara said on social media.
CAIR-LA is calling on USC to reverse its decision and circulating a petition in support of this demand.
Tabassum, meanwhile, addressed her fellow students.
"As your class valedictorian, I implore my USC classmates to think outside the box—to work toward a world where cries for equality and human dignity are not manipulated to be expressions of hatred," she said. "I challenge us to respond to ideological discomfort with dialogue and learning, not bigotry and censorship. And I urge us to see past our deepest fears and recognize the need to support justice for all people, including the Palestinian people."
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