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NU students continue the crusade to divest

DivestDivestment is a nationwide movement; nearly 500 colleges, universities, and municipalities have signed on to 350.org’s national divestment campaign, Fossil Free. Nine colleges and universities have formally agreed to divest, along with a handful of cities and institutions. Universities like Harvard and Brown have gotten widespread media coverage after rejecting their students’ divestment campaigns, only adding more fuel to the fire. 

Divestment isn’t just a good moral and environmental decision, it’s increasingly apparent that it’s sound economically as well. Goldman Sachsand other institution investors have been warning about the medium-long term risks of investment in coal and related industries. Several foundations, such as the Russell Family Foundation, the Educational Foundation of America, and the Park Foundation, have committed to pulling their money out of companies that do business in fossil fuels. And United Nations Climate Chief, Christiana Figueres has called on investors to pull their money out of fossil fuel linked funds.

Northwestern’s DivestNU campaign was created by the Northwestern Responsible Endowment Coalition, made up of students, faculty, and staff, asking NU to withdraw their investments in coal and relocate them to renewable energy projects. Last winter, the Associated Student Government (ASG) passed a resolution in support of divestment from coal and investment in cleaner, more sustainable energies. NU’s faculty senate has also supported the resolution and over 2,000 members of the Northwestern community have signed the DivestNU petition.

The team is currently looking to solidify their strategy to encourage NU to take a stance on the future of coal and fossil fuels. If you are interested in getting involved; email Scott Brown.