Students are protesting against divestments from South African companies, but aren’t advocating the end of the fossil fuel boycott: Cornell and Syracuse University
Some protesters are targeting companies that make defense-related products. Cornell University protesters are calling for divestments from companies including Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Students at Columbia and many other universities pressed the administrators to sell off investments in companies that did business with South Africa because of the country’s apartheid policies.
Students at Syracuse University have been successful in getting universities to disassociate themselves from companies that are tied to fossil fuels.
Most analysts agree that divestments don’t usually punish the companies targeted. Analysts say that divestments are worse in the long run. Staying invested will allow universities to have more say in a company’s operations. The other investors who are less likely to speak up would take advantage of selling off their investments.
“While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses” the university said last week.
The Collapse of Columbia University: The Case of David Swensen, an Investment Officer in a Funded U.S. University
Endowments have become a vital source of financing. They allow for scholarships while ensuring the financial future of the university.
The late David Swensen, who was the chief investment officer at Yale, became a well known figure in finance as the university’s funds grew.
Endowments “are intended to kind of preserve and grow the resources available to colleges and universities. And the number one use of those funds is to support students and student financial aid,” says Prof. Ely. The calls to change the way that funds are invested by students are a complex problem and end up in a circular way of supporting the students themselves.
The confrontation quickly became a flash point among the many university protests that have arisen because of the war in Gaza. Columbia University in New York was the scene of a high-profile protest that was shut down by police.
The counterprotesters ranged from about 100 to over 200 people and sometimes the protesters fought with them. Police were not in a position to take control of the situation until after people set off fireworks and journalists were sprayed with pepper spray.
Hours before the confrontation, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block issued a statement saying his administration had taken several immediate actions, including a significantly boosting security by adding greater numbers of law enforcement officers.
But media reports from the campus describe an hours-long delay between the first clashes erupting and police intervening. Student newspaper the Daily Bruin accused the school of failing to protect students on its campus.
The groups were separated by the law enforcement around 3 a.m. after they arrived at the campus, according to ABC 7.
The Israeli-American Council protest against the pro-Palestinian tent camp on campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wash. (Tullane, WI)
There are reports that universities are taking action against pro-Palestinian tent camps on their campuses.
The police evicted the pro-Palestinian camp in Madison shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, resulting in 12 arrests and several injuries.
A student showed reporters a gash he said came from being stuck by a police shield, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. A trooper was injured when he was hit in the head by a protester’s skateboard.
The protesters began setting up tents two hours later. Leaders of the demonstration held trainings on how to resist further arrests and made plans for a march and rally for Wednesday afternoon,” WPR reports.
On the last day of classes for most students, campus, city and state police officers converged on an encampment — an operation that student newspaper The Tulane Hullabaloo says began before dawn on Wednesday.
At least 14 protesters were arrested, including two students, Tulane announced. The school said it had suspended seven students for taking part in an unauthorized demonstration and that six people had been arrested.
The Daily Bruin states that members of the group were wrestling with protesters inside and on the private campus of UCLA.
The clash erupted days after the Israeli-American Council, an advocacy group, mounted a competing demonstration on Dickson Plaza, adjacent to the encampment. Despite heightened tensions, that large rally on April 28 ended without major clashes.
Adams said that they went in and removed the protesters who had turned the protest into a place with anti-Jewish and anti-Israel attitudes.
He also reiterated that his administration believes many of the protests are led by “outside agitators” who are not students or otherwise a part of the college community. Adams said the police are still sorting through records to determine the number of demonstrators who were not associated with the university.