At first glance, PNC Bank’s presence on campus seems like a small and benign one. Many students may only be aware of Knox’s association with PNC through the ATM in Seymour. In reality, PNC does a lot more on our campus than just manage our ATM, and if our college wants to become a truly environmentally just and antiracist institution, this must come to a stop.

PNC Bank is a company with deep roots to nefarious and dirty fossil fuel operations as well as a history of racist predatory lending practices. PNC provided over a quarter of the funding for the Dakota Access Pipeline. If that wasn’t bad enough, they also provided resources for the deployment of paramilitary troops that hosed and tear gassed the indigenous activists who were peacefully defending their land and water against the construction of this pipeline. PNC is also the parent company of National City Bank, which specifically targeted Black and Hispanic home buyers with subprime loans during the 2007-2008 housing crisis.

PNC generates huge amounts of revenue through their management and processing of our debt and loans for big projects, such as SMC’s renovation. Through Knox’s ties to PNC, we as students are all forced to invest in PNC and all that they represent.

This fall, Knox’s 10 year contract with PNC will expire and be up for renewal. If we do not make the case to stop this contract, our college will be locked into another ten years with PNC. The good news is that there is an alternative, Amalgamated Bank.

 Amalgamated is run by and for unions, and is 100% free from fossil fuel investment. Considering that they handle the finances of massive organizations such as the DNC and Sierra Club, there is no reason they wouldn’t be capable of handling our debt.

We are calling on our CFO Paul Eisenmenger to take a stand on this issue and begin plans to make the transition to Amalgamated as smooth as possible.

We are calling on our current President Teresa Amott to end her legacy on a high note by putting in the legwork in her final months to aid in this process.

We are calling on our President-elect Andrew McGadney to establish himself and our college as a model in positive change by publicly committing to this transition.

Finally, we are calling on you, the students, to join us in holding the Knox administration accountable and make it clear that we will not stand for a financial association that negates our core values.

Until we end our relationship with PNC, our college’s claims of social justice and environmental stewardship will be steeped in bitter hypocrisy. Knox must take advantage of this once in a decade chance to redeem itself as an institution that commits to the struggle against environmental devastation, white supremacy and disaster capitalism.

Alyssa Stringer, Elise Hanson, Isaac Hughes, Jennifer Edmonson and Poornima Tata of the Ecosocialists Working Group

Knox College Young Democratic Socialists of America.