Brown University has rejected demands from student protesters to divest from companies with ties to the Israeli military, in the first such decision by an Ivy League institution since Israel-Hamas War started a year ago.
Brown announced Wednesday that he voted against withdrawing investments from 10 companies described in a divestment proposal from the student-led Brown Divest Coalition (BDC) as “facilitate the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.
In April, the university agreed to address student protesters’ demands in exchange for dozens of pro-Palestinian students disbanding an encampment they had formed on Brown’s Providence, Rhode Island, campus.
The Corporation of Brown University, the university’s governing body, voted 8-2 Tuesday in favor of recommending its Advisory Committee on University Resource Management (ACURM) against divestment.
In a letter to the Brown community, Brian T. Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America and Chancellor of Brown Corporation, and Brown University President Christina H. Paxson wrote that after carefully reviewing the findings of ACURM on a series of issues, “the company declares its clear position against divestment and, therefore, the University will not relent. »
Not “responsible for social harm”
Brown is not directly invested in any of the companies listed for divestment, and its indirect exposure to them “is so small that it could not be directly responsible for social harm,” the letter said. Companies include: Airbus, Boeing, General Dynamics, General Electric, Motorola Solutions, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, Textron, Safariland and Volvo Group.
Since Brown’s “exposure to the 10 companies identified in the divestment proposal is de minimis,” Paxson and Moynihan wrote in the letter, “she could not be directly responsible for social harm.”
The letter adds that Brown taking a position on a geopolitical issue through divestment would be inconsistent with the university’s mission, which “does not include the resolution or adjudication of global conflicts…”
In a statement on Instagram, BDC called the decision “an act of cowardice and endorsement of genocide.”
Universities across the country have come under pressure from students who condemn what they see as financial support from their universities for Israel’s actions in Gazamost rejecting calls from students for a withdrawal of these investments.
And whether divestment is even effective or not remains to be debated, according to experts.
