Students launch petition to urge divestment from fossil fuels, President Green responds

The proposal, which garnered around 600 signatures, was delivered to President Green on May 5....Read More
by May 5, 2021

Photo and video provided to The Quill by Billy Mild

By Victoria Durgin, Editor in Chief

The co-presidents of Susquehanna’s Environmental Club have launched a petition directed at Susquehanna to divest from all fossil fuel investments by 2030. 

The proposal was created by sophomore Grant Rowe and first-year Morgan Hough after the two brainstormed initiatives the club could start on campus. 

“The more I thought about divestment, the more I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Rowe said. 

“We talked with the student group at [University of] Pittsburgh about their recent success with divesting, and we realized we could do it, too,” Rowe continued.

The proposal asks Susquehanna to remove all financial investments from the fossil fuels sector by 2030 and explains several reasons why Hough, Grant and signees think the university should do so. 

Among the reasons listed are concerns over the environmental impacts of fossil fuel production and future financial success of investing in the industry.

The proposal asserts the university is “actively funding an industry that is not only creating a deadly future for students, but inhibiting education itself” by investing in fossil fuel production and companies like ExxonMobil.

This claim is based on a recent study from the National Academy of Sciences that found air pollution negatively affects brain activity. Oil and gas production accounts for a large percentage of air pollution throughout the United States and worldwide, according to studies published by the National Institutes of Health.

The proposal also references social costs, citing multiple studies and reports from Greenpeace, the NAACP and others which show how Latinx, Black and other minority communities bear the brunt of pollution-related health conditions.

Because it is a private institution, Susquehanna is not required to publicly release their financial holdings. After meetings with university officials including Executive Vice President Mike Coyne, Hough and Rowe said they estimate Susquehanna’s fossil fuel investments to make up roughly seven percent of the total endowment.

Rowe and Hough’s proposal also argues that continuing to invest in fossil fuel practices is not a sound financial decision. Coyne told the Environmental Club Susquehanna does invest in ExxonMobil; as the proposal states, ExxonMobil shares dropped by nearly 40 percent in 2020 as traditional energy industries are plummeting in the stock market.

“Simply put, besides divestment being better for both people and the planet, it is overwhelmingly a more strategic financial choice,” the proposal states.

Though Rowe and Hough are passionate about the cause for divestment, they both said they see this as an opportunity, not a battle. 

“The goal of this is to work with the university, not fight the school,” Rowe said.

“We want to just work with the university as much as we can,” Hough added.

Rowe and Hough argue that divesting seven percent of investments over the next decade would be relatively easy for the university to handle.
Still, moving money within the endowment to other investments is a move the university might not find appealing given the post-pandemic outlook for colleges and universities. 

Reporting from the Chronicle for Higher Education estimates COVID-19 costs will be crippling for some universities and problematic for all.

Coyne said at a Student Government Association (SGA) town hall in March that Susquehanna is not in financial danger because of COVID-19, but the university has also been planning for a decrease in enrollment over the next several years due to a decrease in the number of college-aged children in the U.S.

Susquehanna has not commented on the proposal, nor has Coyne spoken to Rowe or Hough directly about this specific plan for divestment. 

As of May 5, the proposal has 609 signatures and the official support of the SGA.

“SGA senators chose to back this for a multitude of reasons. I voted to approve the proposal since I know how widespread sustainability initiatives are championed on our campus and I care deeply about a sustainable future,” junior and Secretary of the SGA Maddie Laubscher said. 

“We cannot continue to champion on-campus sustainability initiatives while also investing in companies that are perpetuating climate change in other parts of the U.S. and abroad – it is hypocritical of SU to do this. This was a sentiment echoed by many of the senators as well,” Laubscher also said. 

On May 5 students gathered in the TRAX parking lot and walked to Selinsgrove Hall to deliver the proposal to President Green. 

Green spoke to the group of students outside of Selinsgrove Hall, where he said the university has partnered with a new investment firm and Assistant Director of Sustainability Derek Martin to shift some investments away from fossil fuels already. Green said he estimates the current investment in fossil fuels is about a third of what it had been previously.

Green added that while investments are complicated and full of nuance, the university appreciates the recommendations in the proposal and will work with students once he has read the full document. Watch Green’s full remarks to students below:

The proposal can be read in its entirety here.

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by The Quill - May 3, 2021

by The Quill - May 5, 2021
One Comment
  • Peter Engstrom
    5 May 2021 at 1:53 pm -

    While I fully support transitioning away from fossil fuels, I hope students appreciate the challenge it will be to do so.

    As such, I’d like to challenge every student to go an entire 24-hour day living without anything, product or service, that is made from petroleum. To get started, go without anything plastic, such as electronic equipment, most clothing (polyester), even bicycles as they use grease (in the rotating parts), plastic peddles, handgrips, etc. No use of student desks, either, as they are coated with a plastic resin. Exception: plastic medical devices (insulin syringes/pumps, stints, etc) are exempt. Also go without electricity or building heat (steam boilers use natural gas/coal).

    I suggested this challenge years ago for inclusion in your Perspectives Course due to the Professor’s anti-petroleum bias, so perhaps students have already completed this challenge.