Divestment would be dangerous, self-defeating and impossible, is what we're hearing from corporate media. Why are students even bothering?

“First, it’s impossible to know just how and where universities’ endowments are invested,” he maintained, because “schools are notoriously close-mouthed about it, revealing as little as they can.” Yes, which is why, as the Post noted, investment transparency is the second of three demands from Columbia University protesters, and a key issue in many other encampments.

But not so fast, Marsicano warns: “Disclosing investments can lead to complications large and small,” including “the possibility that a university disclosing its decision to sell or buy stock could affect the price of that stock.”

Surely that will keep a lot of protesters up at night—the fear that their university’s sale of stock might cause Boeing’s stock price to drop.

(Emphasis original.)

  • amemorablename
    9·
    5 months ago

    Meanwhile, I saw this today: https://twitter.com/fatimazsaid/status/1786416204476756360

    BREAKING: Following 6 months of protest and 5 weeks of occupation, Goldsmiths University management have conceded to @Gold4Palestine demands to divest from Israeli occupation 👏👏👏 this is a huge victory!

    More details in the thread below 👇

    Copy/pasting for those who may struggle to read it through the link if not logged in:

    1. Divestment: Goldsmiths have agreed to a new ethical investment policy + switching fund manager. @Gold4Palestine will also present evidence at the uni’s finance committee. Goldsmiths will also review Candida Gertler’s honorary fellowship due to her ties with occupation. [Image as part of the post explains, “Main Important Points: Candida Gertler is the co-founder, co-director, and trustee of Outset Contemporary Art Fund. Her and her husband are also close personal family friends of israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They hosted Netanyahu’s 70th birthday party at their home in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu’s wife, Sarah Netanyahu, attended their son, Raphael Gertler’s wedding in London this year. Candida leads fundraising efforts for the Frieze Art Fair Special Acquisitions Fund, which buys artwork to donate to the Tate Collection. Candida and her husband, Zak Gertler, have contributed to the private philanthropic fund. As well as the Frieze Acquisition Fund, the Gertlers also donate to JNF UK. They are official patrons listed on the organization’s website. The JNF have been funding israel’s forcible appropriation of land from Palestine since the Nakba in 1948. They provide funds to the OR movement, an org involved in constructing an illegal settlement called Hiran to replace the Palestinian village of Umm-al-Hiran. They’ve also supported the illegal settlement of Sansana, a village in the occupied West Bank. A reminder that israeli settlements in the West Bank are in direct violation of international law, please see Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention.”]
    1. Statement on Genocide: Goldsmiths will release a collaborative statement between management, @Gold4Palestine and the student union. Goldsmiths has also agreed to write to the UK government and the local MP to call for a ceasefire and support rebuilding education in Gaza.
    1. IHRA Definition: Goldsmiths will conduct a review of the IHRA definition, independent of the ongoing antisemitism inquiry, as soon as possible.
    1. Palestinian Scholarships: Goldsmiths will introduce undergraduate scholarships for Palestinian students + an additional fully funded postgraduate scholarship will be implemented from this year. This will be the only undergraduate Palestinian scholarship offered in Britain!
    1. Protect the Right to Protest: Goldsmiths conceded that protest guidelines were a direct response to Palestine protests and will review them to protect Muslim students. Body worn camera policies will be implemented so students can’t be filmed without their knowledge.
    1. Immortalise the Student Occupation:
      One of the lecture theatres that students occupied in the media department will be renamed after Shireen Abu-Akleh. The @Gold4Palestine occupation will also be memorialised in an exhibition wall in the Professor Stuart Hall Building.