The Daily Orange editorial “Divest SU protest can’t force change” published on Sept. 30 argues that fossil fuel divestment “cannot happen overnight.” We agree. That is why the nearly unanimous resolutions passed through the Student Association and University Senate in 2013 and 2014 have asked that the university  to “begin a process of divestiture from these companies and commingled assets within five years.” Both of these resolutions have been previously reported on and are available to students and faculty. There should be no excuse for missing this key detail. In fact, a Daily Orange article from 2013 is titled “Group protests SU’s use of fossil fuels, calls for elimination of all fossil fuel investments within five years.”

Furthermore, The Daily Orange editorial states that students “are not well-informed enough on SU’s budget to demand divestment.” This claim also lacks background. We know as much as is publicly available and as much as university administrators are willing to tell us. In this regard, the new administration has been less forthcoming.

After passing successful resolutions through the two largest democratic bodies on campus, administration declined the opportunity to divest from fossil fuels this summer and did not invite members of the campaign to its meeting. In contrast, under Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s administration, we met with administrators on three occasions, each time with the University’s Chief Financial Officer and others with direct knowledge of the university’s endowment and budget. Through these meetings, we know that divestment will not be easy, but we ask that university administration sit down with the campaign to talk about a first step.

Divestment is a complicated tactic, but when student and faculty representatives have had the chance to ask questions, read supporting documents and dialogue with us, they have left convinced that the university can and should divest from fossil fuels. It is reasonable, environmentally responsible and necessary given the dire condition our climate is in. We hope that our administration will listen to its students and faculty and take action on this issue.

Ultimately, the decision is about what side of history we stand on.

Divest SU meets Fridays at 3 p.m. in Smith Hall 003.

Ben Kuebrich
Composition and cultural rhetoric​ major