Washington University in St. Louis invests a portion of the $13.3 billion endowment in the fossil fuel industry. Divestment is the action of withdrawing these investments and thus separating WashU from the injustices perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry. We advocate for the environment and marginalized communities whose rights and health are compromised by the extraction and combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas. As stakeholders in this research university that studies the causes and consequences of climate change, it is contradictory and morally unjust to financially empower the use and promotion of fossil fuels. We demand that the administration lead by example and pull all investments out of the fossil fuel industry, upholding the celebrated moral and scientific values of its student body, families, faculty, and alumni.

I, as a parent of a Washington University in St. Louis student, pledge not to donate to the university except for restricted scholarship funds until WashU entirely divests from fossil fuels. We are sending our students to this esteemed university to provide a better future for them. Investing in fossil fuels is not investing in the future of our children.