As youth, we have a common stake in this fight. As young people, we will inherit the consequences of a poorly managed environment and economy, and we believe our institution has a moral and economic responsibility to take bold climate action. Serving the interests of the 1% is not in the mission of our universities, yet they are increasingly coming under corporate control and refusing to act in the interest of students. Climate change is a real and serious threat to current and future generations and its impacts are currently being felt by those who have contributed the least to this change and yet are often the most affected by it. Through deep personal relationships, we can challenge and support each other to grow personally and as leaders. Positive social change comes from people standing together, speaking up and taking action. We need to revision our relationship to labor and land in order to radically transform our economy, political system and culture. We cannot settle for “false” solutions that solve symptoms of the crisis because we need real solutions that address the roots of the crisis. Transitioning away from fossil fuels means transitioning towards justice.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years. As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on Emory University to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds. We believe such action on behalf of Emory University will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the wellbeing of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

"Not unto ourselves alone are we born." Our motto speaks of large responsibility for combating climate change and acting for the greater good . We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Many who have never had a carbon footprint & contributed to global warming are experiencing the worst effects. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years. As public and atmospheric pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on you and the board of trustees to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds. We believe this action will not only be a sound decision for our institution's financial portfolio, but also for the chance for all future graduating classes to have a foreseeable, stable future.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50bn in damages. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years. As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on Oberlin College to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds. We believe such action on behalf of Oberlin College will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the wellbeing of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

This is why it matters for you to ask for your personal pension to get moved within TIAA-CREF (or to put pressure on your profs to do so, if you're a student!)... As of June 2020, we had a quarter billion $ in teacher pensions in TIAA-CREF's Low Carbon Social Choice fund, but it's a TRILLION $ fund, so more $ needs to be shifted here; https://www.tiaa.org/public/pdf/Social_Choice_Low_Carbon_Equity_Fund_Q_A.pdf We recognize that most industries rely somewhat on fossil fuels, but we also recognize that certain industries play particularly large roles in promoting climate change, the most critical global challenge to environmental, social, and financial sustainability, and this Low Carbon Social Choice fund allows us to put our $ where our mouths are.