Standing Rock. A new civil rights movement where environmental and human rights have met. The Dakota Access Pipeline Project is a pipeline that will stretch 1,172 miles from North Dakota to Illinois. It will pump an estimated 470,000 to 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day between the Bakken and Three Forks areas. The project got final approval to go ahead in March of this year causing several controversies.

“We have decided to go to Standing Rock because we have been called. The people of Standing Rock issued an open call for aid and community.” – Sam Keillor

The Gustavus Diversity Leadership Council wrote a letter stating their political stance with Standing Rock on Wednesday, September 5, 2016, during the Diversity Leadership Council. The letter focuses on their support of the NoDAPL movement.

    “NoDAPL supporters feel that the letter is necessary and important because of Justice, commenting on how the No Dakota Access Pipeline is important because we want to be a student body that not only makes changes in the community but in other communities as well,” Sophomore Claire Dirnberger said.

    NoDAPL supporters considered Gustavus’s core values and decided that the values need to be applied to a community in need.

    Dirnberger said, “vocalizing our stance, in one of the most intersectional issues of our time, is essential to educate the Gustavus community of the present and potential harms to the Standing Rock reservation.”

    The Diversity Center Leadership Council was inspired by Gustavus student, Senior Sam Keillor, to write the NoDAPL letter. Keillor approached the diversity center asking for the support of NoDAPL. He had a discussion with the DLC Education board and explored ways that the DLC could support NoDAPL, and together they produced the idea of a letter that voiced their concerns. They next focused on the many ways to get campus organizations involved and educated on the Dakota Access Pipeline. They started by encouraging each organization to advocate for the Standing Rock community, which would allow them to work together to provide support for the reservation in other ways.

  “Think about your traditions, what you celebrate, and what you like to do. What would it be like if you weren’t allowed to celebrate, have those traditions, and do those things? What if there were laws that forbid them? This is what has happened to the native families in North Dakota. That is what those people have been forced to do. Just think about what it would be like. Put yourself in those people’s place,” Keillor said.

     Keillor was inspired to lead a group of Gustavus students to Standing Rock over Fall Break joining the hundreds of protesters against the Dakota Pipeline. There has been some breakthrough between the Dakota Pipeline crisis.

“We have decided to go to Standing Rock because we have been called. The people of Standing Rock issued an open call for aid and community,” said Keillor.

Keillor sees a Gustavus bubble where outside issues aren’t prevalent. Keillor is attempting to break the bubble by publicizing the need for support at Standing Rock. He is doing that by embracing one of Gustavus’ core values, community. He has gone to Standing Rock already with Gustavus Alumni Jace Riggin earlier this year. There, he witnessed the human spirit that has overcome so many obstacles. Even though the protesters might be strangers to each other, they are fighting for a common cause. Keillor will spread the word about Standing Rock by exposing students to the reality of real world issues.

The college, as well as Dean of Students JoNes VanHecke, has embraced Keillor’s quest to call all Gusties to action. The Campus Travel Safety Committee met to review the group’s travel plans. Based on liabilities, the college is unable to sponsor this trip, but the college will be able to provide monetary assistance to the group. They will be able to help ship donations to the site where the students will gather. Aside from all liabilities, the college is upholding one of its core values.

“First and foremost the committee would like to express our pride and support for your efforts to educate yourselves and your peers and to gather donations for the protestors,” VanHecke said.

This year a group of Gusties stood in solidarity with the Dakota people.

“They are not protestors, they are protectors. They are putting themselves on the line to defend the earth we all live on and all have to share,” Keillor said.

The fight over Standing Rock will persist until there is an agreement between both parties. In the meantime, volunteers from all over have joined the cause. Keillor and his fellow Gusties are a few of those protesters that are fighting. He is asking for others to join the fight.

  The Diversity leadership council is supporting the cause by raising awareness about the issue.

    “We hope that this letter is only the beginning of our organization’s efforts to bring peace and justice to our neighbors in the West,” said Dirnberger, on behalf of the Diversity Learning Council.

Building Bridges aims to take a stance on the Standing Rock/Dakota Pipeline issue outside of the DLC letter as well.

“Building Bridges supports the protectors of Standing Rock and all who have come to help them from across the country and world,” Senior Co-chair, Gabriel Grosshuesch said.

The Building Bridges organization has created several events to help raise awareness for NoDAPL. One, in particular, focused on raising awareness around campus.

On Oct. 11, 2016, Building Bridges hosted a NoDAPL workshop in which they provided context for the movement against the pipeline, historical facts, and open conversation to share ideas about how Gustavus can get involved.

“The Dakota pipeline is going to cost $3.7 billion dollars, at least $156 million in revenue and at the same time isn’t even going to offer all that many jobs to people,” Grosshuesch said.

There were many consequences of the pipeline being built that were brought up at the workshop.

“There are many consequences to pipelines. The accidents take a lot of time to clean up and in the past six years have spilled 7 million gallons of crude oil into the environment. There are only 189 federal pipeline inspectors to manage 2.6 million miles of pipeline, 18,000 miles per inspector, would only be 40 for the Dakota pipeline, which is just grossly undermanaged. There is just no way to guarantee the lasting of the pipeline so why even take the chance?” Junior Co-Chair Elizabeth Long said.

However, in contrast, the College Republicans have stated they do not support the signing of the letter for multiple reasons. They feel that the benefits of the pipeline greatly outweigh the costs.

“DLC is using the letter to convince President Bergman to support them in using student activity funds to pay for sending students to protest at the pipeline during fall break. DLC needs Bergman’s approval because there are currently students from all over the country that are sitting in jail over in North Dakota for their actions while protesting and if a Gustavus student were to be arrested for any improper actions it would reflect poorly on the school,” Kraft said.

“We, the College Republicans, support one’s right to protest, but they have to do it on their dime or from independent fundraising, and not take it from the student body’s fund especially when it can tarnish the school’s longstanding reputation,” Kraft said.

On Monday, Oct. 10 the Student Senate voted on whether or not to endorse the Dakota Pipeline letter drafted by the Diversity Leadership Council.

The discussion lasted for a good 45 minutes. The general feeling in the room on one side felt more in support of the Student Senate endorsing the letter with multiple members making public comments.

“Our opinions as Student Senate are ones that the student body trusts. Gustavus’s pillars are excellence, community, justice, service, and faith. When someone in our community is struggling, and at risk, we as a community should stand up for them,” Junior Cabinet Member Emmett Haberman said.

There was a lot of discussion occurring as to why the focus should be on this issue.

“When you think about why we would focus on this one issue and not any of the thousands of others. It is a subject that has grown more on our campus and has been something that our school has decided to talk about and become very active about, and that isn’t happening with every issue. Most major issues within the student body come to the Student Senate in some way, shape, or form and we at least have a discussion,”  Sophomore Student and Academic Affairs Chair Quinn Andersen.

The vibe in the room at the beginning of the discussion was very personal and was overall in support of endorsing DLC’s letter.

“I can’t help but feel like we shouldn’t be completely silent on this issue. People are very passionate about it, and I feel that I can’t ignore it,” Junior Senator Matthew Vierzba said.

Many of the Senate members expressed how they feel the issue cannot go ignored.

“The Gustavus community isn’t a vacuum. This is a political issue, but people are being affected by it as well as many other things. People at Gustavus care about this matter, and I feel that we should support that,” Sophomore Senator Chloe Shaw said.

The conscience of the other side of the room was much different, being not in support of the student Senate endorsing the DLC’s letter.

“I’m pretty uncomfortable with the Senate releasing any political statement. No matter what the survey results are, I think the Student Senate taking a political stance as a governing body of this college would be making those who hold the opposing opinion feel like outsiders,” Junior Ethics Chair Joe Robbins said.

Many senators were in agreement with Robbins sentiment.

“I feel like if we take a stance on this, it might set a precedent that we will take a stand on every political or social issue and we might not want to go down that path,” First-year Senator Michael O’Neil said.

Many members were concerned about the fact that endorsing this matter would set president for the body to apporoch every issue that arises at the campus.

“Why should we just take a stance on this issue? Why focus on just this one? I just think that taking a political position is not Senate’s primary job,” said Senior Senator John Baron.

Overall, individuals of the Student Senate just felt as if it wasn’t the right way for them to step in.

“I don’t think endorsing this letter would be the most productive and best for our entire Gustavus community,” Junior Senator Oakley Clark said.

At the end of the discussion the Student Senate took a voted against supporting the Diversity Leadership Council’s letter. It was a close vote, seven in support, ten against.

    However, members felt that there were still things that the Senate could do to support the NoDAPL issue.

“There are other avenues that we can take besides endorsing the letter. For example, encouraging discussion,” Senior Cabinet member Sean Hinnenkamp said.

The Student Senate agreed to have an investigation take place looking into if the general Gustavus student body is in support of the DAPL movement, and plans to act accordingly then.