NYU Divest, a group calling for the administration to divest from fossil fuels, has been more active than ever this semester. Even after the university reneged on its promise to coordinate a meeting between divestment activists and the Board of Trustees last semester, Divest is continuing to advocate for its cause. But this time, unwilling to wait for our lumbering bureaucracy, they are trying more subversive tactics: the group grilled President John Sexton at his final town hall and held protests in Bobst last week. Divest has also released a pledge calling on donors to withhold donations until the Board of Trustees divests from fossil fuels. It is heartening to see Divest advocating for change through multiple channels in spite of NYU’s intransigence.

As an institution of higher learning, NYU should be conscious of the implications of their investments. Universities have a disproportionate amount of influence on the social consciousness of their students. And as a self-declared global university, NYU has a duty to use its stake in the future wisely. In the past, NYU has set a winning precedent when it divested from corporations that supported apartheid in the ’90s and from companies affiliated with Sudan during the genocide in Darfur. Given the urgency of climate change, NYU should again take a strong stand and do what’s right.

NYU Divest’s particular brand of activism is essential in an era where causes are fleeting and disillusionment sets in quickly. With constantly-updating newsfeeds, it’s easy to get involved in issues one day only to forget about them the following morning. But just because an issue has fallen out of the headlines does not mean that it is not still pressing. Global warming never went away, even as people turned their attention towards other issues. When groups like NYU Divest disrupt the normal news cycle, refocusing people’s attention on an issue that’s no longer trendy, they’re reminding the student body of what they should have known all along — that global warming still needs to be addressed and that divestment is still a cause worth advancing.

The need for NYU Divest’s continued activism represents a failure on the part of the administration to reflect students’ interests. It’s a logical alternative then that Divest would go around the university and appeal to donors, but this move should never have been necessary in the first place. As a university full of liberal-minded students with a mantra of “a private university in the public service,” one would expect NYU’s administration to be more committed to the global good. It remains to be seen whether the pledge will make an impact on the amount of money donated, but in a sense, it doesn’t matter. NYU Divest has already succeeded in their goal of keeping the divestment conversation alive.

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