The following is a Letter to the Editor for the Opinions section. 

Back in 2019, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) passed a bill asking DU and Chancellor Jeremy Haefner to divest from fossil fuels in order to better support sustainability efforts within the university, and in turn, globally. This was swiftly denied by Haefner and the board, with a response consisting of the fact that only 5% of DU’s endowment was invested in fossil-fuel related companies. Because of this, it could not possibly make a big enough impact to worry about, right? With a total endowment of nearly $800 million, maybe we should revisit if this is a legitimate reason for denial, or merely just another instance of DU valuing profits over people. 

The fossil fuel industry is one of the largest contributors to the ongoing global climate breakdown that is already estimated to cause 150,000 annual deaths. The industry relies heavily on large investors who benefit from the cheap energy they provide at the cost of lives, health and biodiversity worldwide. DU, from their own words, invests at least $30 million into this industry, despite student activists’ pleas for divestment. 

The issue here is not a political, or even a disagreement on how to best manage an investment portfolio. It is simply an admission that the need for profits to please major stakeholders is more important than the futures of the students they claim so often to be their first priority.

This is not the only issue where students have faced resistance from the powers-that-be on seemingly black and white issues. Large protests have taken place in the place demanding that the school change their moniker, the “Pioneers,” to something that maybe does not evoke imagery of the violence perpetrated against Indigenous people, especially given the history of Colorado’s settling and the creation of the University of Denver in the first place. Again, the reasoning for not changing the mascot was impotent at best, but it is really because there are a small number of major donors who simply do not want it to be changed. 

If DU is fine with causing harm to its Indigenous students in exchange for a nice check from some alumni, how can we ever expect them to take steps towards protecting their students’ future when it does not seem quite as profitable to do so. 

This is a moral failure on the part of DU, but one that should be unsurprising given the history of the institution. With tuition rates continuing to rise, how much longer do we allow for moneyed interests to interfere with the future of DU students? At what point do we say no more to profits over people? 

I ask that DU students do whatever they can to get involved in this issue, for even if it seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things, enough local involvement can start a larger movement. Writing to the Clarion, contacting USG, all of these things build up over time. We can make this push for divestment, as numerous other universities have done so already.