On April 4, the student group UIUC Beyond Coal rallied on the Quad to push the Academic Senate to pass a resolution urging the University divest $5.1 million held in the coal industry through stock index funds, in order to slow climate change. The Senate voted in favor of the resolution at its meeting that afternoon. Students had already voted by a six-to-one margin for divestment in a 2013 referendum. The University stated that it has no plans to change its investment policies, claiming that a changeover would be “complex” and would cost too much money.
