Climate change activists at Harvard University told The Huffington Post this week that they feel optimistic heading into a court hearing Friday on a lawsuit that aims to get the school to divest from fossil fuel companies.
Seven students at the university filed the suit in 2014 in an effort to get the nation’s richest college to stop what they see as inherent support for an industry that contributes to global warming. The suit claims the Ivy League school’s governing body, the Harvard Corporation, is violating its duties as a nonprofit public charity by investing in gas, coal and oil companies. It also says that Harvard has breached its duties by putting profit ahead of the serious and immediate threat of climate change — which Ted Hamilton, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, notes is “causing grave harm to future generations.”
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“Handing out informational flyers on divestment at alumni reunions, for example, I’ve had alums — usually well-heeled — tell me that I should be ashamed of myself,” Franta said. “But these alumni usually don’t have the courage of their convictions. They’ll snipe and ‘troll,’ so to speak, but they won’t engage in a real discussion, and they won’t organize. They won’t fight. I’m not that worried about them.”
