Hayden Higgins, Davidson '12

Dear Davidson,

My name is Hayden Higgins and I am an alumni of Davidson College. I graduated in 2012 and currently live in Washington, DC, where—in my scant free time—I volunteer with a grassroots citizen’s group called DC Divest. As a member of DC Divest, I have given speeches, lobbied councilmembers, and asked for signatures in the freezing cold, all as a part of the divestment movement for climate justice.

As I expressed in a recent Davidsonian Perspectives piece, I am uncomfortable with the financial relationship Davidson maintains with the fossil fuel industry and will not, at this time, in light of the human toll of climate change, be able to make donations to the endowment. I do not make this commitment lightly, but to contribute to our endowment under these conditions would contravene my principles and all I learned at Davidson.

Injustice is not an investment. If Davidson’s trustees want to count their money while the planet burns, they won’t have my support. The Board of Trustees has rejected the student vote on divestment, but is my hope that the concerns of alumni like myself will help to change their minds. The financial and moral cases for divestment are, at this juncture, overwhelming.

I am writing with the hope that your office will convey my feelings to the Board and, as appropriate, track them for your own purposes. Davidson's chance at leadership on climate—its chance at being the Game Changer it claims to be—is slipping and will soon be gone.

The Pledge:

{ I pledge to remain committed to the movement for fossil fuel divestment and continue to organize for climate justice far beyond college graduation. I am dedicated to building the power of our movement over the long-term because injustice is not an investment. I will not graduate out of this movement. }

I take this commitment seriously, and I hope that other Davidsonians will also pledge to fight for the future of current students and of generations to come.  It is time for Davidson and Davidsonians to put our money where our morality is: with our shared humanity, and apart from fossil fuels. Divest now.

Sincerely,

Hayden Higgins

Davidson College, 2012

Outreach and Development Coordinator, US Climate Plan

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