The Athens Justice Coalition launched its Divest from Death campaign Wednesday afternoon on College Green to share its vision for Ohio University’s divestment from weapons manufacturers and fossil fuel companies.
“This campaign was born from our pain, pain because our tax dollars and tuition money are being used to fund genocide and the climate crisis, pain because the Board of Trustees and United States government ignore our pleas,” Leighton Heiner said on behalf of the AJC.
According to the AJC's Letter of Demands, OU currently invests in weapons manufacturers, including $1,172,579.44 to Boeing and $759,180.77 to RTX Corporation. The letter also says OU invests in corporate polluters, including $2,513,302.81 to ExxonMobil.
“These companies profit through conflict, war, and even genocide, as well as through the destruction of ecosystems,” the letter states.
Leighton Heiner prepares to enter Cutler Hall to deliver a letter of protest at the Athens Justice Coalition's Divest from Death campaign outside Cutler Hall, Ohio University, Feb. 26, 2025.
Chloe Partlow, a junior studying environmental studies and a minor in environmental health science, spoke on behalf of Sunrise Athens.
“The national Sunrise Movement is committed to stopping the climate crisis and investing in racial and economic justice,” Partlow said. “We know that solidarity and local organizing are the most powerful strategies at our disposal.”
Partlow said Oberlin College and Case Western Reserve University have divested from fossil fuels with help from their local sunrise hubs.
“We, as part of the Athens Justice Coalition, know that OU can do that and more,“ Partlow said. "If OU intends to prepare us for successful futures, all the while advertising our strong tradition of student activism, the university cannot continue to invest in corporations that jeopardize our futures."
Partlow said the only path forward is through equity, justice, humility and divestment.
Brian Stephens, an assistant professor of African American studies, said the real win of the rally was everyone gathering to stand for what they believe in.
“I am not an expert on this human rights disaster, but I don’t have to be an expert to know it is morally wrong for the Israeli government to deprive the civilian population access to food and water,” Stephens said.
Stephens said OU was home to one of the largest anti-war movements against the Iraq War. Additionally, it was among the first universities in the nation to establish and implement an African American Studies department.
However, he said OU also invests in companies that implement the violence he described.
“The Athens Justice Coalition demand that OU divest from death and destruction and endorse an arms and embargo against the Israeli government,” Stephens said.
The protesters carried signs and marched to Cutler Hall to personally deliver their letters of demands to OU President Lori Stewart Gonzalez.
The letter demands that OU permanently reduce investments in all military contractors and oil and gas producers to $0, as well as denounce Ohio Revised Code Section 9.76, which prohibits any state agency from contracting with a company that boycotts Israel during the contractual period.
“Let's sustain the moral leadership that had made OU on the right side of history,” Stephens said.
