Brown University will not divest from 10 companies that student activists said facilitated “the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.”
The Corporation of Brown University, the university’s governing body, voted Tuesday to support the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management (ACURM) against divestment, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.
ACURM found that “Brown has no direct investments in any of the companies targeted for divestment and that any indirect exposure for Brown in these companies is so small that it could not be directly responsible for social harm,” University Chancellor Brian T. Moynihan and President Christina H. Paxson wrote in an open letter explaining the corporation’s vote.
The corporation’s decision comes a year after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza. Brown is one of a number of universities that have faced pressure from students to divest its resources from what they called “companies which profit from human rights abuses in Palestine.”
About 30 undergraduate students from the Brown Divestment Coalition met late Wednesday to discuss the Corporation’s vote and strategize about their next steps, said Arman Deeander, 21, a Muslim American student and a coalition member.
“We are firm in our commitment to divestment,’’ Deender said. “We as a Brown community are not going to let the Corporation forget about this and we’re not going to be silent.”
The Brown Divest Coalition had already planned to make their voices heard when the Corporation meets next week, and they will do so, said Raphael “Rafi” Ash, a junior and coalition member who also represents Brown Jews for Cease Fire Now.
In her letter, President Paxson said, “Whether or not members of our community agree with ACURM’s conclusion and the Corporation’s decision, they can be assured that the committee’s process was deliberate, inclusive, fair and participatory.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
This story was originally published by The Public's Radio. It was shared as part of the New England News Collaborative.
