We’ve been hearing a lot from High School students who want their schools to divest. Check out this compelling letter to the editor from four student activists at Phillips Andover Academy.

By Mimi Leggett, Haonan Li, Edward Mole, Justin Wang, and Suzanne Wang
Friday, January 11th, 2013

To the Editor:

In the 1980s, students occupied college campuses and took the fight against South African apartheid into their own hands, adding their voices to the call for the liberation of 23 million people. Now, a new challenge has emerged in which students can play a critical role.

Climate change, largely driven by the burning of fossil fuels, threatens the food we eat, the homes we build and the future we hope for. This daunting problem is solvable, but only if we come together against it. Unfortunately, fossil fuel companies are less interested in solutions and more interested in their pocketbooks. Andover, which invests in such companies, profits from the destruction of the planet.

Sure, Andover also invests in alternative energy sources such as wind and solar energy companies, but we still continue to invest in “the exploration, production, and delivery of fossil fuels and/or byproducts”, according to Michael Reist, CIO of Phillips Academy in an email to The Phillipian. Not only is such investment morally wrong, but this support also goes against our school’s fundamental values. Thus, we call upon Phillips Academy to divest its endowment from fossil fuel companies.

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