KU students FIGHT for pension fund divestiture

A group of students at Kansas University is asking a municipal pension fund to consider the moral implications of some of its investments.

The group has adopted the name FIGHT, which stands for "Fighting Ignorance of Global Humanitarian Threats." FIGHT wants the city of Wichita's public pension system to divest itself of holdings in companies that do business in Sudan. This is in response to the genocide in Darfur.

"This is an issue that I and several of my friends have been working day in and day out on here at the University of Kansas," said Amanda Applegate, a member of FIGHT (Fighting Ignorance of Global Humanitarian Threats). "Our foremost concern at the moment is attempting to divest finances from wherever possible, because we believe that divestment is the fastest way to end the genocide in Sudan."

Applegate, a graduate of Wichita East and FIGHT's advocacy director, said the group is awaiting a report from the city. It has also asked the same questions of the city of Lawrence.

Wichita officials confirmed that they were looking into the matter.

FIGHT's request is the latest example of how the campaign to help Darfur has slowly gained traction in Kansas.

In February, Sen. Donald Betts, D-Wichita, introduced a resolution asking the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System to divest from companies doing business in Sudan. The resolution was tabled because it involved a change in how money was being invested.