Occidental College's board of trustees voted this week not to divest from companies with ties to Israel, saying the move would further divide the campus and limit free speech.
In a letter to students, faculty and staff on Monday, Occidental Board of Trustees President Lisa H. Link acknowledged the devastating effects of the war between Israel and Hamas, but said taking a stand on a complex geopolitical situation could alienate certain members of the community and undermine its diversity.
“The diversity of opinions among community members was a compelling reason to refrain from acting on the proposal, as the Board believes that a decision in favor of the proposal would be divisive and detrimental to the university community,” he said.
The divestment proposal put forward by leaders of the Western chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine in May called for the university to identify and disclose any investments in four manufacturing companies that have provided weapons and equipment to the Israeli military.
The board said Occidental's endowment does not include direct investments in any of the four companies. Indirect investments in Israel-linked companies represent less than 0.1% of the university's endowment assets and are managed by third parties that restrict the university's ability to divest from specific parts of a fund, Link said.
“The Board believes that it is not in the best interest of the University, nor our current and future students, to jeopardize the endowment by divesting from managed funds that have minimal exposure to certain companies,” he said in the letter.
The board's vote on the divestment proposal was contingent on students dismantling their pro-Palestinian encampment, not preventing the start and not reoccupying space on campus without prior approval.
The board held the vote after Occidental's school year ended in early June.
Matthew Vickers, co-organizer of the camp and spokesman for Occidental's Students for Justice in Palestine, said he was disappointed by the board's decision, but not surprised.
“Based on pressure from Zionist fathers and off-campus organizations like the Brandeis Center and [the Anti-Defamation League] and the personal political prejudices of the Board of Trustees, they gave in and rejected the divestment,” he said.
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights in May against Occidental and Pomona College, accusing the colleges of allowing discrimination and harassment of Jewish students on their campuses.
Occidental Hillel directed its inquiries to Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Susan Young, who declined to comment on the board's decision not to divest and alleged anti-Semitism on campus.
Although the board's vote came after many students left campus over the summer, Vickers said students still in Los Angeles are planning actions on and off campus to protest the board's refusal to divest. .
On the UCLA campus, students continue to organize pro-Palestinian protests over the summer, erecting a new encampment on Monday that resulted in about two dozen arrests.
“People are still galvanized and willing to continue the fight,” Vickers said.
