by Fossil Free Penn
As we near the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, it’s easy to forget about the great harm that it caused. Or rather, the harm that was caused by governments and institutions that chose to ignore the dangers of the virus. If there’s anyone who wants you to forget about the harm they caused, it’s the University of Pennsylvania—let’s not ignore the ways in which Penn repeatedly harmed West Philly throughout this pandemic. As your freshman year launches, you’ll likely hear a lot about the school’s green policies (i.e. recycling initiatives, emission quotas, carbon buybacks etc.), as well as how much they “care” about safeguarding students’ and the planet’s future. Don’t be fooled: despite all the righteous gesturing, Penn has admitted to invest hundreds of millions in the corporations most responsible for the climate crisis.
By funding environmental destruction, Penn cowardly values profit over people. Indeed, the University you are joining ironically bears the motto “laws without morals are useless.” Despite its non-profit status, the University acts as a ruthless corporation. Through displacing West Philly residents, police harassment of community members and students, and investment in Israeli occupation of Palestine, Penn paints a clear message: people don’t matter. (See Campus Policing, Pilots)
The university currently invests $850 million dollars (that we know of) in the fossil fuel industry through its endowment. We are asking for divestment, a tactic used by climate justice organizers that shrinks power from fossil fuel industries. This is not a unique demand; student organizers across the country have pressured their universities to divest from fossil fuels. Just last January, Columbia divested after a huge tuition strike that was organized by students.
For years, Fossil Free Penn has demanded that Penn use its wealth, visibility, and privilege to call out this destruction for profit by divesting their endowment from the fossil fuel industries and using this money to start to repair the harm they inflicted on the West Philly community.
But Penn has refused. Last spring they went further: Amy Gutmann sent out an email that gaslit every Penn student, tip-toeing around divestment from fossil fuels with a begrudging proposal to feebly lower emissions.
This statement was even weaker than their historic silence. The Board of Trustees acknowledged the power divestment holds and even still, they value the growth of their bank accounts over the lives of their neighbors. Scott Bok, the newly appointed head of the Board of Trustees, recently advised the Energy Corporation of America. This company is extracting oil from thousands of sites in Pennsylvania alone. In Philadelphia, the racist placement of the fossil fuel infrastructure allows Black children to be five and a half times more likely than white children to be hospitalized for asthma or respiratory distress. Furthermore, at least four of Penn’s trustees, including Amy Gutmann, are linked to the construction of Line 3, a pipeline that is being built illegally through Indigenous land, funded by banks like Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan.
Throughout the years, our campaign – like that of PAO, PFP, CAFSA, GETUP, PIR, SLAP, and BARS – has pushed Penn to do better by the people it willfully harms and has been met with embarrassing silence (see: Defanging Radicals, Campus Policing, PILOTs). We gathered the support of students and faculty and submitted multiple divestment proposals to the administration which was all ignored. So in 2019, we decided to become a direct action group. On November 8th 2019, we disrupted the Board of Trustees meeting, compelling the people in charge of investment decisions to finally listen to us. (SUPER COOL VIDEO)
Our strategy has been one of escalation as well as coalition building. Last year, we began building stronger relationships with groups on campus as well as community organizations (such as Philly Thrive), and we plan on strengthening those ties through collective action over this year. The climate crisis is the result of the same story we repeatedly hear: a few people reaping capital with no regard for the wellbeing of others, the same unjust system of colonialism, extractivism, and capitalism. Our fight is deeply tied to that of our comrades—Penn must divest from all destructive industries.
The university is both a perpetuator and an inheritor of climate degradation, and they are relentless in their inaction. We must be equally relentless in our efforts to pressure them. This is our fight. Make it yours too.
Penn Disorientation Guide 