On November 29, students at the University of New Hampshire delivered a petition signed by 1,000 of their peers to the office of President Mark Huddleston, calling for the divestment of the institution’s endowment from fossil fuel corporations. The action came in response to a letter received by the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC)—a student-led advocacy group which argues that the administration’s professed sustainability priorities are undermined by investments in carbon-burning giants—from the UNH Foundation, which manages the university’s endowment portfolio.

The Foundation presented its stance in unequivocal terms: “Divestment in fossil fuels is not a practical or feasible option for the UNH Foundation.” Doubling-down, Huddleston himself released a statement published in a local paper, advising “those who would seek to limit the scope of foundation investments [to] introduce themselves to the current UNH students who would have their financial aid suspended as a result of such actions, and ask them how they feel about such a policy.”

In response and rebuttal, SEAC members—many of whom do receive scholarships and financial aid—are urging financial alternatives that they believe more accurately reflect the school’s stated priorities around climate change as well as their own values, as the video below makes clear.