UPDATE, 11:39 a.m.: All three protesters arrested at the University of Mary Washington on Wednesday evening were released, each on a $1,500 bond.

UMW students Noah Goodwin and Adam Wander, along with Fredericksburg resident Nina Angelini, were released from Rappahannock Regional Jail around midnight to members of the Divest UMW organization.

SHORTLY AFTER University of Mary Washington students began their sit-in in front of President Hurley’s office a member of the board of visitors reportedly said they were “being a pest.”

This reaction suggests that Divest UMW is actually on the right path. History shows us that to attain social change, change that may be difficult and/or costly, it is often necessary to make decision-makers uncomfortable and even outraged.

With reports released this week exposing Harvard University's enormous carbon footprint, students, alumni, faith leaders, and community members are amplifying their call for the prestigious university to divest from its fossil fuel holdings.

Four years ago, a handful of college students travelled to West Virginia. In the heart of the Appalachian mountains, they saw two things: the destruction wrought by the fossil fuel industry, and the ongoing resistance of communities that have lived alongside it for generations.