Divest UChicago, a collaboration between the Phoenix Sustainability Initiative (PSI) and the Environmental Justice Task Force (EJTF), held its fourth annual “Divestival” rally on Friday to protest the University’s investments in fossil fuels and its lack of financial transparency.
The rally, which began at 5 p.m. on Harper quad, featured speakers from student advocacy groups, tables from UChicago College Democrats and the reSOURCE Thrift Store, and performances from student music groups Dirt Red Brass Band, Sleazy Disco, Nothin’ But Socks, Voices in Your Head, and Barbershop Quartet.
Throughout the event, attendees chanted, “What do we want? Divestment! When do we want it? Now!” and “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Fossil fuels have got to go!”
Divest UChicago handed out free compost bins and encouraged students to write chalk messages promoting divestment across Harper quad and the main quad. The group also solicited signatures for its petition demanding that the University divest from fossil fuels. The petition currently has more than 3,100 signatories.
Speakers at the rally demanded that the University liquidate its current fossil fuel investments, freeze new investments, and commit to disclosing data on its holdings in energy-sector companies. The University does not publicly disclose investment decisions, but multiple University board members currently hold investments in fossil fuel and private equity companies, according to Divest UChicago.
“We’re gathered here today at Divestival to tell the University that we refuse to be complicit in their investments in fossil fuel corporations and weapons manufacturers, which actively kill people and destroy ecosystems in futures around the world,” said Manuel Azpurua, a third-year in EJTF.
“UChicago not only invests in these companies but refuses to disclose its investments to its own students,” first-year PSI member Alexandra Blake said.
She also referenced a 2023 Amnesty International report that rated the investment portfolios of institutions of higher education based on their transparency and adherence to environmental, social, and governance standards. Among the 10 universities evaluated, the University ranked last, receiving a score of zero out of 40.
A 2020 Maroon investigation found that the University’s endowment had “exposure to fossil fuels, deforestation, and weapons’ manufacturers through its investments in hedge-funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and private equities.” More recent reporting shows that the University’s portfolio includes several million dollars’ worth of investment in energy companies, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips.
“UChicago selected the phoenix as its mascot, symbolizing an institution born from the ashes of tragedy, rising to meet the challenges of its day with unparalleled academic rigor,” Blake said. “In the meantime, our administration behaves more like an ostrich, burying its head in the sand.”
“This University claims to be ‘politically neutral’ and falls back on its precious Kalven Report. But when it comes to actually confronting its own politics, the University is silent,” Azpurua said.
When defending its lack of engagement with calls for divestment, the University has generally invoked the 1967 Kalven Report, which argues the school should maintain institutional neutrality on social and political issues unless its core mission and values are threatened.
“Silence is never politically neutral. And if divestment is political, then so is investment,” Azpurua said.
