NYU Divest Halts Demonstration After NYU Administration Reveals They Dropped Investments in Anadarko Petroleum and Noble Energy.
The group suspended their protest after one of their demands was already met.
NYU Divest suspended their occupation of the Bobst executive elevator on Friday evening after it was revealed NYU had already satisfied one of their major demands.
As reported by NYU Local, NYU Divest occupied the elevator, demanding that the NYU Board of Trustees divest from Anadarko Petroleum and Noble Energy. But the morning of their protest, Martin Dorph, CFO of NYU, delivered a letter stating that NYU had already dropped these investments.
Marc Wais, vice president of Student Affairs, confirmed Dorph’s statement at 5:00 p.m. While they are still waiting to independently confirm the dropped investments, it was apparent the top item on Divest’s list of demands had been met. Divest remained in the elevator until 6:00 p.m., when they made the decision to leave and regroup until they address the development of the situation.
“We are heartened that NYU has dropped its investments in Anadarko and Noble, companies that have been involved in a slew of recent public safety and contamination debacles,” wrote NYU Divest organizer Olivia Rich in a press release. “However, we are disappointed that NYU is at this point unwilling to provide us with information about when and why these investments were dropped, and why we only found out about it this morning.”
It is still unclear as to why NYU ended investments in fossil fuels without notifying a student group whose main motivations are to protest those investments.
“The investments NYU currently has in Anadarko and Noble are strictly indirect investments made by fund managers or as part of an index fund, University spokesperson John Beckman wrote in an email to Local. “In neither case does NYU directly select the stocks that are in the funds.”
Beckman also confirmed the information provided by Wais and Dorph regarding NYU’s investments. He also addressed the demands of NYU Divest, and repeated the sentiment that protest should be less disruptive. His statement can be read in full below.
“NYU no longer has direct investments in Anadarko and Noble. The endowment’s specific investments are continuously subject to change based on best judgment about NYU’s investing objectives.
The investments NYU currently has in Anadarko and Noble are strictly indirect investments made by fund managers or as part of an index fund. In neither case does NYU directly select the stocks that are in the funds. Because those stocks are chosen wholly at the discretion of the fund manager and NYU has no authority to directly affect the selection of a particular fund, the issue of conflict of interest is obviated.
In 2015–16, the Board considered the issue of fossil fuel divestment deliberately, carefully, and respectfully; its review of the subject included several meetings of senior university officials and Board members with NYU Divest, and the review of extensive materials prepared by NYU Divest. In the end, the Board’s decision to not divest from fossil fuels and its reasons were made clear in a public and transparent way.
We appreciate that NYU Divest wished — and still wishes — for a different outcome. However, there has been no material change to the facts, so there are no plans for the Board to revisit the decision the Board made public in June 2016.
As far as today’s protest: The University believes in free speech, the free exchange of ideas, and the right to protest. When our students protest, we try to accommodate them and make sure they have a chance to express their views; that’s in keeping with our values as a University. But if the protest is interfering with NYU operations (such as staging in a sit-in in a library elevator or illegally staying in a building after it has closed) or interfering with other students’ academic work, then we have to ask the protesters to bring their efforts to a close or move them to a location where they won’t be disruptive. We hope that the protesters will be respectful of their fellow students and of our building policies.”
