The CRIC is planning to follow these steps during the academic year in voting its proxy ballots:

Fall Term

• Identify values of the Carleton community. There are several ways to accomplish this, including examining published statements of values, inviting groups to speak at committee meetings, holding a public forum, and examing widely-accepted actions undertaken by the college (such as construction of the windmill or removal of Coca-Cola from campus).

Winter and Spring Terms

• Cross-check Carleton's endowment holdings with the Investor Responsibility Research Center's research on proxy ballots to identify those companies with shareholder resolutions pertaining to our defined community values.
• Divide the research burden between committee member, issue-by-issue rather than company-by-company (often the same shareholder resolution is filed with several companies, so the former option is more efficient). The CRIC Kids will also help research.
• Presentations are made by each researcher to the committee about each proxy ballot. The committee then votes yes, no, or abstain on each resolution.
• A final committee report is to be written, briefly justifying each vote the committee recommends. It is here that Carleton's values are given as reasons for the committee's stance on each shareholder resolution.
• Attend the Board of Trustees meeting and make a formal presentation of the report. It is here where liberal meets conservative: as the adage goes, "If you have radical ideas, dress conservatively."
• The Board of Trustees makes the final decision on each ballot. But with research and a little luck, we can create positive change in corporations!