While the availability of a Bank of America ATM on campus has been a source of unquestioned convenience for many students, students on campus have begun a fight for its removal.

Members of the University chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), an offshoot of a leftist organization active in the 1960s and nationally resurrected in 2006, are campaigning for the removal of the Bank of America ATM.

SDS’s objections to the ATM are part of a wider protest against Bank of America, which has come under scrutiny for funding companies that practice mountain top removal, an environmentally degrading form of surface coal mining in which the tops of mountains are entirely removed to access the coal. In the process, surrounding areas are severely damaged.

“End of first semester would be great [for the ATM’s removal], but we are mindful that activism and organizing that questions the status quo can take time,” said SDS member Nick Petrie ’12.

According to the environmental activist group Rainforest Action Network, Bank of America has financed millions of dollars to companies such as Massey Energy, Arch Coal, Alpha Natural Resources, and Foundation Coal—all of which are notorious for their connections to mountain top removal.

Various other banks, such as Citi, have also been connected to such controversial mining processes and accused of aiding dependency on coal. SDS hopes to replace the current Bank of America ATM with one from a national bank like Amalgamated, which is seen to be more socially responsible.

Bank of America, a national bank with a presence on many college campuses, has expressed support for environmental sustainability on its website.

“We are increasingly deploying the power of our human and financial capital to connect our customers, clients and associates to opportunities in the new environmental economy,” the website reads. “Bank of America believes we can be both sustainable and profitable, and we want to play a role in helping to lead the way into this new, sustainable and profitable era.”

SDS is not the only group concerned by these degrading practices. Petrie noted that University environmental group Environmental Organizer’s Network (EON) has also taken an active role in raising awareness about the issue.

“This is a campaign that has really gone nationwide,” said Petrie. “SDS is a great way to start it, but it is really beyond SDS.”

Wesleyan’s chapter of SDS, which formed at the end of last semester, currently has about 30 members. The group, which meets every Saturday at 2 p.m. in 200 Church Street, is part of a larger movement of 120 chapters and over 1000 members.

Petrie described SDS as a decentralized, activist group.

“We are a multi-issue group dedicated to serious, lasting change and everyone is always welcome,” Petrie said.

SDS member Nico Flores ’12 explained that the group is using two approaches in its protest of Bank of America.

“One is educating the students about causes and the other side is doing something with the administration,” Flores said. “We are in the process of getting in touch with Dean Phillips and then we will keep on talking to people higher and higher up.”

Many students were surprised to see campus sidewalks chalked with messages such as ’Join SDS’ and ’Stop Mountain Top Removal.’

“I had heard that they got rid of chalking, so I was a little confused by what I saw,” said Helen Summers ’12. “I think it’s important that they are raising awareness… but I’m not so sure what kind of impact it will have.”

Allie Benson ’11, a member of EON, had heard about the connection between Bank of America and coal mining before.

“I think that the chalking was well done and that they should follow up with more information,” Benson said. “If they don’t, I feel like people won’t really understand the connection between coal, Bank of America, and mountain top removal, and that’s what’s really important.”

The Environmental Protection Agency has reported that over one million acres across Appalachia have been lost to mountain top removal and that 1200 miles of streams have been buried.

“In this [mining] process, they wash all the toxins out and the run off goes into these great sludge pools,” said SDS member Zac Kirwood ’12. “This leaks into ground water and that tainted water goes into people’s communities.”

Petrie echoed these sentiments, explaining that part of a mountain cannot be removed without dire implications, such as mudslides and soil erosion.

“It’s like playing Jenga with a mountain,” he said.

SDS member Jon Booth ’12 became involved with the issues surrounding Bank of America after volunteering with an environmental organization, the Rainbow Coalition, this past summer.

“In Marsh Fork, West Virginia, sludge pools are right above an elementary school,” he said.

The on-campus group has been active with causes such as Student Power for Accessible Education, which promotes the democratization of education. It also supports End the War, which works to end the Iraq War.

According to their website, SDS works across the country to foster a more open and accountable society.

“As students for a Democratic Society, we want to remake a movement—a young left where our struggles can build and sustain a society of justice-making, solidarity, equality, peace and freedom,” the website said.