Every spring for the last 39 years, the Gustavus community has enthusiastically worked to explore different ways to promote peace on our secluded campus by holding an annual May Day Conference for Peace. Past topics have included ones concerning PTSD and soldiers’ struggle to readjust to home-life, capital punishment, as well as the cultural resiliency of Tibetan culture.

The latest edition to this valued Gustavus tradition has to do with the ethics and practical use of money entitled “Divestment and Reinvestment: Making Money Count.”

“It seems to be a concept that many students have heard about, yet have limited knowledge,” Senior Director of Institutional Events in Marketing and Communication and one of the leaders of the May Day planning committee, Barb Larson Taylor said.

Preparation and discussion for the conference begun last September and the participants included many Gustavus faculty, staff, and students.

After generating many topic ideas, the group narrowed down the possibilities to the topic of divestment.

“The topic is very timely given the amount of news of divestment initiatives taking place in the U.S. and abroad… we wanted to use May Day to examine whether divestments are a viable tool for building peace,” Kristian Braekken, Assistant Professor in Economics and Management and Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies, said.

In simple terms, this year’s conference will discuss the complexities that come hand-in-hand with investing, or more specifically, divesting. At the same time, it will also strive to examine the history, politics, and possibilities of using divestment as a tool to engender peace.

By examining historical examples of divestment and the ways in which they have shaped world politics and peace developments, the college hopes to increase understanding of how divestment can be used as a tool for peace or conflict.

“Through a diversity of speakers with a wide range of perspectives… this conference will probe the morality and mechanics of divestment in order to inspire effective action for building peace,” states the Gustavus website May Day announcement.

“The hope is that everyone will be challenged to think about the complexity of the topic” – Barb Larson Taylor

The conference will be held on Wednesday, April 27 and will begin with lectures by Dr. Kathleen Dean Moore and Dr. Ove Jakobsen at 10.

“Both of them are exceptionally well published in their respective areas and are authorities on the ethical and economic issues of sustainability and environmental concerns,” Braekken said.

First, Dr. Moore, who has visited campus before as a speaker for the Nobel Conference, will speak on the ethics of divestment as well as the ways in which morals can contribute to how investments and divestments are chosen. Following her, Dr. Jakobsen will present his lecture entitled “Ecological Economics: Ideology or Utopia?” which will focus on how world divestments may be used to protect the environment.

“Dr. Jakobsen brings a Scandinavian perspective on ecological economics and we are fortunate to catch him” between speaking engagements in Europe, Braekken said.

Finally, after a lunch break there will be a panel discussion and Q&A with additional notable academics such as Sa’ed Atshan, a professor at Swarthmore College, John Muehlhausen, vice president at Merjent, and Katie Oran of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

The ultimate goal for this year’s conference is to challenge what we already know about the ethics of how we spend our money. By looking at the statements that our investments make, we can assess the ways in which we can change for the better.

“The conference is not intended to discuss whether or not Gustavus should divest from particular industries. It rather seeks to investigate historic divestment strategies from a peace building standpoint while reflecting on contemporary challenges,” Braekken explained.

By altering class schedules to allow students to attend the presentation, Gustavus hopes to give faculty and students alike the chance to learn about this unique topic.

Furthermore, it will give the Gustavus community a chance to think on a world-scale and about the future. It will instigate a discussion about pros and cons of certain investments.

“The hope is that everyone will be challenged to think about the complexity of the topic,” Taylor said.

As in so many other years, the May Day conference of 2016 will present an academic and ethical challenge to our Gustavus community that will hopefully inspire individuals to research more, learn more, and do more in pursuit of peace.