Op-Ed

We are young! What do you want your legacy to be here at DU? DU students joined together to drop a banner on campus this week with the message to divest. I am here to implore you to join us in this movement. Sign the petition! I beg you to ask yourself these questions and then do something about it.

Environmentalism is on the forefront of our minds as we begin to realize our parents’ disrespect towards this earth is hurting us and will definitely hurt our children. Here is our opportunity!

In divesting in fossil fuels here at DU, we will join the national trend and take one step closer to a cleaner earth. Let us change the status quo. According to gofossilfree.org, 1,184 institutions have divested, and only 15% of those institutions are universities. We are communities of passionate, eager, young individuals who want to make an impact, so let us come together in one fight! The fact of the matter is that this movement amps up pressure on decision makers nationwide. Heads of college campuses may see on the news that a $98 billion fund was just divested from Georgetown University, and people holding onto the status quo are now suddenly running out of excuses not to jump on board. Institutions of higher education ultimately are aiming to prepare their students for work and service after school. But if those institutions are invested in fossil fuel companies, then students’ educations are relying on foundations of investments that guarantee they won’t have much of a planet on which to make use of their degrees.

We have been shot down once already, but we must not quit. We here at the University of Denver are blessed to go to school in such an incredible state, one in which we embrace the outdoors and have the privilege of looking out over the Rocky Mountains from the windows of our library. In the midst of this beauty bestowed upon us, we must keep fighting to save our planet. Divesting is the next step for us.

Our endowment here at DU has the long-term purpose “to provide enduring benefit to present and future students, faculty, staff and other stakeholders”. DU contends that divestment in fossil fuel companies would not be an effective means of mitigating global warming. Yes, we can generate discussions on the importance of saving our planet and we can incorporate sustainability into our curriculum, but how can we teach these principles if we are fueling the fire by investing in these same companies that blatantly disregard the best interest of our planet?

The common misconception is that divestment would break the fiduciary duty of a school to smartly invest. However, this can actually save colleges money. The fossil fuel industry is slowly in decline. Further, as investment in fossil fuels declines, this leaves more room for investment in renewable sources. Coal doesn’t just threaten our health and our climate, but coal mining companies are losing their value. If investors are considering long term trends, they will be able to see that the financially responsible decision is to pull their money out now.

The goal is not to hurt these fossil fuel companies: a few million dollars will not even skim the surface of financially burdening them. Our goal instead is to tarnish and attack their image. We need to shift the cultural attitude towards these big bad companies. Universities have the exceptional ability to shift public opinion and influence law makers. Students have always been key to movements of conscience, and this campaign is no different. The idea is that as we get more and more institutions that we trust on board to pull their money out of fossil fuels, we are taking a stand. We must take a stand as our moral obligation to our planet. With every new university that joins this fight, we gain ground.

DU has already made strides in reducing their carbon footprint, as well as accelerating programs working on 5 key sustainability initiatives: transportation, green space, energy, food sourcing and creation of a sustainability curriculum. I implore you for your support in recognizing that our next step is to divest. Stop encouraging and supporting companies that are inhibiting our basic right to exist on this planet! Take a stand. Let us join this fight.