by Ilana Cohen, The Nation.
Climate activists at other institutions can learn from Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard after their victory at the world’s richest university.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was produced for Student Nation, a program of The Nation Fund for Independent Journalism dedicated to highlighting the best of student journalism.
For nearly a decade, we petitioned, protested, and politicked. We met with members of the Harvard Corporation, several of whom have personally profited from the fossil fuel industry, only to hear them repeat the same empty talking points. We risked and incurred arrest storming the Harvard-Yale field in the largest university divestment protest ever. Most recently, we filed a legal complaint against Harvard with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. What did we get from Harvard in return? A whole lot of obfuscation and some half-measures. Or so it seemed until last week. In a surprise announcement last Thursday, Harvard finally announced that it would divest from fossil fuels.
Full story HERE
Photo credit/caption: Students from Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard hold a rally two days before the university’s divestment announcement. (Campbell Erikson / Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard)