The divestment trend is spreading among America’s college campuses like a cancer. Divestment is not a new idea, but has recently come back into fashion in a powerful way. What is divestment? Simply put, it is the opposite of investment. In the university context, it is an attempt to effectuate change in a given area by halting any financial support of a cause or industry by the university.
The popular divestment targets of the day range from the fossil fuel industry to Israel. At this point, the fossil fuel divestment movement has spread to nearly 1,000 different campuses, but, as of now, only a few dozen have taken action. However, we are seeing leftist-mentalities increasingly tighten their chokehold on campus communities, and it is possible the tables could turn at any moment.
Many commentators feel comfortable saying that fossil fuel divestment is a waste of time and energy. When a campus divests from fossil fuels the impact on the industry as a whole is less than negligible. The impact on the university however can be substantial in the long term. Fossil fuels are a relatively safe investment, and divesting only serves to hinder a university’s financial growth and well-being.
Beyond this long-term effect on universities that choose to divest, students can potentially face immediate ramifications. Recently, the student government of my own school, the University of Cincinnati, took up the divestment issue. Fortunately, the idea was voted down. Importantly, this vote focused more on the well-being of students than the university’s financial health.
UC is well known for its co-op program, first instituted over 100 years ago. This opportunity to gain practical experience during college is an effective recruiting tool for the university and often leads to post-graduate employment for students. I am proud to say the student government considered the many co-op students each year who go to work for fossil fuel companies, and decided not to pursue a course of action that could have subjected those students to severe negative consequences. The student government recognized that divestment has the potential to affect those companies’ decisions whether to recruit on UC’s campus and, in voting down the proposal, it prioritized concerns for students and their employment opportunities.
Post-graduate employment is a problem for millennials. Part of the blame belongs to the economy, but at least some of the problem is attributable to the attitude and reputation of our generation. Millennials like the now-infamous Yelp employee are doing nothing to improve our generational standing. So, it is encouraging to see a group of university students considering the practical effects of their decisions and making the right choice for themselves and their peers — I encourage other campuses to take note.
