What does it mean to be the difference? You can say you support difference-makers and talk about the causes of the future. However, without action, words are just words. True difference making comes from consistent, thorough support of causes that align with the values that the institution claims to hold at its core.
This Earth Day, Marquette University and all Marquette students can follow through and truly be the difference. Like all Jesuit institutions, Marquette values and preaches Catholic social teachings and attempts to live every day acting on them. There are seven themes of Catholic social teaching, including care for the poor and vulnerable and dignity of life, but the theme I want to talk about today is care for God’s creation. As stated on the US Society of Catholic Bishops website, “Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith,” and as a Catholic institution, Marquette fits into this requirement.
Despite clear direction from the Catholic Church, Marquette has not institutionally upheld the importance of caring for the earth. Earlier in the month, a group of students from Fossil Free Marquette, a non-partisan activist group calling for Marquette to move away from the fossil fuel industry, came and spoke at Ignite about the need for Marquette to divest from fossil fuel. Sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, Maddie Kuehn, stated that while the exact number is not publicly available, Marquette is significantly invested in fossil fuel and related industries. Not only does investing in fossil fuel support an industry that has caused nothing but harm to God’s creation, it disproportionately affects countries with limited infrastructure and health care, therefore also violating the social teaching of caring for the poor.
Several Jesuit institutions have started the process of divesting and many are already completely out of the industry. Most recently, Creighton University held a student referendum in 2019 to gauge support for divesting from the fossil fuel industry. An overwhelming majority of over 83 percent voted to move university funds out of the fossil fuel industry, and this pressure on the university led to Creighton announcing they will be fully divested by 2031.
Today, Marquette students have an opportunity to bring about a difference, just like the students at Creighton. Fossil Free Marquette and Marquette Student Government are holding a referendum vote to encourage Marquette leadership to make those same changes. As a Marquette student, a Christian, and an inhabitant of the earth, I am asking you to be the difference this Earth Day and vote yes to caring for God’s creation.
This story was written by Katie Robertson, a Marquette student who volunteered to write this letter. She is not a staff member for the Wire. She can be reached at [email protected].
To submit a letter to the editor, email Executive Opinions Editor Alex Garner at [email protected] and copy Managing Editor of the Marquette Tribune Annie Mattea and Executive Director Natallie St. Onge on those emails. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].