Harvard Must Divest from Shell Oil

To the editors:

We write to congratulate Shai Sachs on his excellent call for divestment from Shell Oil (Opinion, Nov. 19). As Mr. Sachs pointed out, this November marks the third anniversary of the execution of nine human rights activists, including Nobel Peace Prize nominee Ken Saro-Wiwa, by the military dictatorship of Nigeria. This is only one of the dictatorship's many major human rights violations encouraged and supported by Shell, which provides more than 50 percent of the government's funding.

However, Sachs' article is not the first time Harvard students have protested Shell's involvement with human rights and environmental abuses in Nigeria. For example, in 1995 the Undergraduate Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for Harvard to fully divest from Shell Oil.

Yet three years later, Harvard still owns more than $34 million in Shell stock. Student protests continue today. On Nov. 10 (the anniversary of Mr. Saro-Wiwa's execution), the Environmental Action Committee organized student protests on the steps of Widener and in front of the local Shell station. These were part of an international day of protest against Shell's involvement in Nigeria. Like Mr. Sachs and the 1995 council, we urge Harvard to join us in censure of Shell Oil by fully divesting itself of all Shell stock. BENJAMIN D. TOLCHIN '01,   DANIEL M. HENNEFELD '99,   DANIELLE C. SCHINDLER '98- '99,   MIRANDA E. W. WORTHEN '01   Nov. 22, 1998 Benjamin D. Tolchin and Daniel M. Hennefeld are members of the Progressive Student Labor Movement Sterring Committee. Danielle C. Schindler is the co-president of the Environmental Action Committee. Miranda E. W. Worthen is the co-chair of the Alliance for Social Justice.