Scott Vrooman rips up his Dalhousie degree over fossil fuels, sends it back to school

Though it has been almost a year since Dalhousie University in Halifax voted against divesting its holdings in fossil fuel companies, one notable alumnus has just delivered on his promise to rip up his master's degree over the issue.

Writer-comedian Scott Vrooman tore his Master of Development Economics degree from Dalhousie into many pieces on video last week and posted it online Sunday. He then put the shredded degree into an envelope and sent it back to Dalhousie president Richard Florizone.  

• Dalhousie University votes against divesting fossil fuel holdings
• Canadian Medical Association divests of fossil fuels

"In your decision not to divest from fossil fuels, you cited your fiduciary duty to generate reasonable risk-adjusted returns. If you want to generate reasonable risk-adjusted returns for a living, go work at a bank," Vrooman says in the video.

"Your job is to prepare students for the future, so you shouldn't be profiting from an industry that is actively working to make that future uninhabitable."

Vrooman pledged to tear up his two degrees last May — one, the Dalhousie degree, the other, his commerce undergraduate degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. — if both of the schools did not agree to pull their investments from coal, oil and natural gas companies by this fall.

Dalhousie's board of governors voted against the divestment last November on the advice of the institution's investment arm. The board was voting on the future of about $20 million of investments from the school's large endowment fund of almost $500 million.

Last Friday, Queen's University also voted against pulling its endowment and investment funds from fossil fuels, citing divestment as an "ineffective tool to mitigate the risks of climate change" in a written statement. 

Vrooman told CBC News that Queen's didn't make its decision until after he filmed the video, but he now plans to rip up his undergrad degree from that university as well.

Handing back degrees

The fossil fuel divestment movement started in the U.S. and has spread across the continent, making its way to Canadian institutions like the University of Ottawa, the University of Toronto, UBC and McGill.

Vrooman's interest was piqued when he heard about alumni from Oxford University in England handing back their degrees over the issue.

"I decided to just kind of take it a step further and... rip the degree up on camera," he said. 

Vrooman is asking alumni and honorary degree holders to hand theirs back too. He thinks this is an effective method because it dents the school's reputation. He has been targeting several honorary degree holders, including author and noted environmentalist Margaret Atwood, who holds an honorary degree from Queen's. 

Vrooman has written for several Canadian media outlets, has been a correspondent for This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and is perhaps best known for his work with the former Halifax sketch comedy troupe Picnicface. He notably made a satirical run for Senate earlier this year.

He says he was careful not to make any jokes in the degree-ripping video, so others wouldn't confuse it for comedy.

"It felt like a real expression that helped me express my anger and demonstrate that and I think when people see it, they kind of see it's a serious thing," he said. 

"I'm not just mouthing off on Twitter or something, I'm really doing my best to show how important this is to me."

Dal responds

A student group called Divest Dal has been leading the movement at Vrooman's alma mater in Halifax. Though the university voted against divesting, their campaign continues. 

Divest Dal member Simon Greenland-Smith praised Vrooman's actions.

"While ripping up your degree is a serious action, it reflects a feeling of betrayal among students and alumni, and I think Scott takes that very seriously," he told CBC News in a written statement.

"Reputations are important not only for the universities themselves but also for their alumni, so we think it is perfectly justified for alumni like Scott to demand climate leadership from their universities and we encourage all alumni to do the same."    

When asked about the incident, Dalhousie spokesman Brian Leadbetter reiterated the university's stance on fossil fuels.

"We... believe that Dalhousie will have more influence with regard to climate change as an engaged investor than we would through a one-time decision to divest holdings in carbon companies," he said.

"We believe it is consistent with the mission of the university to work with all companies which support research that addresses the key issues of climate change."

Leadbetter said Dal believes in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, citing the environmentally sustainable fund option for prospective donors, which was approved by Dalhousie's Board of Governors in November 2014.