Creighton students ready to fight for fossil fuel divestment

Creighton University students are not giving up their fight to get the school’s leadership to divest from fossil fuel companies.

It’s a topic that took the national stage on Saturday, when students and alumni protested during halftime of the Yale - Harvard game, demanding the same thing.

Creighton University students are not backing down. They want a conversation with the school’s leadership about why they refuse to pull investments out of fossil fuel companies.

About two weeks after more than 85 percent of the nearly 2,500 Creighton’s students who voted, said yes to calling on the school to divest from fossil fuels.

“We have presented what we believe is true, we have backed it up with data-driven arguments both looking at the scientific, the financial literature and the moral and ethical arguments,” said Mike Galeski, one of the students leading the way.

In a letter, Creighton President Reverend Father Daniel Hendrickson rejected the student's non-binding referendum writing in part: " . . . divestment from fossil fuel companies as outlined . . . does not align with our goal of a properly diversified endowment.”

But students said the leadership hasn't explained how they came to this conclusion.

Galeski said they want a conversation that delves into the specifics of why the university has chosen not to start divesting.

“Until we see the data to the contrary we will continue to push our cause forward.”

6 News reached out to Creighton’s president for a comment, but a representative asked we refer to the president's letter to students, staff, and faculty.

A handful of universities across the country have begun to divest from fossil companies including the University of California.