Current:Home > NewsJohnathan Walker:Brown rejects calls to divest from companies in connection with pro-Palestinian protests on campus -Aspire Money Growth
Johnathan Walker:Brown rejects calls to divest from companies in connection with pro-Palestinian protests on campus
Charles Langston View
Date:2025-04-10 12:39:15
BOSTON (AP) — Brown University has rejected a proposal to divest from 10 companies that protesters say were facilitating the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.
The Johnathan Walkervote Tuesday by the Corporation of Brown follows a committee report recommending against divesting partly because the university has little investment in them and the amount it does would not cause social harm. The report estimated the school had no direct investment into the companies, which included Airbus, Boeing, General Dynamics Corp and and General Electric Co., and that about 1% of its endowment was indirectly invested in the companies..
“If the Corporation were to divest, it would signal to our students and scholars that there are ‘approved’ points of view to which members of the community are expected to conform,” University Chancellor Brian Moynihan and President Christina Paxson said in a joint statement. “This would be wholly inconsistent with the principles of academic freedom and free inquiry, and would undermine our mission of serving the community, the nation and the world.”
Last spring, the university committed to an October vote by its governing board on a divestment proposal, after an advisory committee weighed in on the issue. In exchange, student protesters agreed to dismantle their encampment on campus.
Ahead of the vote, Niyanta Nepal, the student body president who was voted in on a pro-divestment platform, were spending their energy on applying pressure for a vote in favor of divestment. They rallied fellow students to attend a series of forums and encouraged incoming students to join the movement.
The defeat left the students, led by the Brown Divest Coalition, charting their next move.
“This is a moral stain on Brown University, a clear affront to democratic values of the institution, and an egregious erasure of the insurmountable violence enacted by the Israeli regime in Gaza and now Lebanon,” the group said in statement. “This decision makes one thing clear: our university has at least $66 million dollars invested in companies that facilitate Israel’s genocide, apartheid and military occupation and still refuses to dissociate from these funds.”
Colleges have long rebuffed calls to divest from Israel, which opponents say veers into antisemitism. Brown already is facing heat for even considering the vote, including a blistering letter from two dozen state attorneys general, all Republicans.
veryGood! (9621)
Related
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Tour de France standings, results: Belgium's Jasper Philipsen prevails in Stage 10
- Brett Favre is asking an appeals court to reinstate his defamation lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe
- Forever stamp prices are rising again. Here's when and how much they will cost.
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- Target launches back-to-school 2024 sale: 'What is important right now is value'
- French airport worker unions call for strike right before Paris Olympics
- Why Lena Dunham Feels Protective of Taylor Swift
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- These are the best and worst U.S. cities for new college grads
Ranking
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Gypsy Rose Blanchard Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Ken Urker
- Case against Army veteran charged with killing a homeless man in Memphis, Tennessee, moves forward
- The Biggest Bombshells From Alec Baldwin's Rust Shooting Trial for Involuntary Manslaughter
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet are officially divorced
- Dartmouth student found dead in river leads police to open hazing investigation
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, See Double
Recommendation
Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
Forever stamp prices are rising again. Here's when and how much they will cost.
New Hampshire Air National Guard commander killed in hit-and-run crash
Some power restored in Houston after Hurricane Beryl, while storm spawns tornadoes as it moves east
What to watch: O Jolie night
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Ken Urker
RNC committee approves Trump-influenced 2024 GOP platform with softened abortion language
Podcaster Taylor Strecker Reveals Worst Celebrity Guest She's Interviewed