John, we just got NYU to divest from fossil fuels!!!

This story begins more than ten years ago, but this week’s announcement takes me back to just months ago when the NYU Board of Trustees finally agreed to sit with me and my fellow organizers from Sunrise NYU. 

We were so nervous. It’s not every day that four Sunrise Movement activists take on a room full of powerful billionaires with strong ties to the fossil fuel industry. This day felt like our Super Bowl – we worked years to get here and finally had an opportunity to confront the Board of Trustees. 

We spent countless hours and late nights researching every Board member, trying to learn more about their fossil fuel investments. After weeks of strategy sessions — just months into my freshman year — I remember thinking to myself, “it’s crazy to see who’s running my dream school.” We were up against Maria Bartiromo, a climate denying Fox news anchor, and Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, one of the largest investors in fossil fuels.

And, John, against all odds and all of the fossil fuel money in the world, WE WON! The pressure from hundreds of students over ten years forced the NYU Board of Trustees to finally divest from fossil fuels.

Universities have the power to be leaders in responding to the climate crisis by decarbonizing, funding life saving research, and cutting ties with the fossil fuel industry causing the crisis.

This win is a testament to the power behind student organizing and it’s why so many of our fellow Sunrisers across the country are taking action on their campuses and in their communities. If we’re going to stop the climate crisis from worsening, we’re going to need to keep organizing until every institution of power divests and ends the era of fossil fuels. Help Sunrise NYU and Sunrisers across the country continue organizing towards Green New Deal wins by donating $5 today.

Donate $5 

Onwards,
Sammi and Sunrise NYU