Outgoing University of California President Michael V. Drake announced in a letter to chancellors that student governments are banned from boycotting companies, due to associations with particular countries which would invalidate Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions bills passed by several University of California academic senates.
This decision specifically impacts student governments participating in the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Nexus file photo
This announcement comes after a Trump administration directive stating that institutions engaging in Israeli boycotts would not qualify for federal medical and science research grants. According to Drake’s letter, University of California (UC) policies require that financial decisions be grounded in “sound business practices,” and that boycotting companies based on their association with particular countries “would not align with these sound business practices.”
“While our community members have the right to express their viewpoints, financial boycotts are inconsistent with UC’s commitment to sound business practices, academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas,” a statement sent alongside the letter read.
While the boycott ban applies to protests regarding any nation, the letter was released following the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the National Science Foundation announcing to grantees that federal funds were at stake due to anti-Israel actions.
This decision specifically impacts student governments participating in the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Last year, the UC Santa Barbara Associated Students (A.S.) 75th Senate passed a bill prohibiting A.S. funds from being used to purchase from companies on the BDS list.
An A.S. resolution to divest had previously failed to pass four times since it was first proposed in 2013. By 2015, eight other UC campus student governments had voted to divest.
UC campuses also voted to divest from business ties in South Africa during the 1970s, with UCSB being the last campus to vote in 1978. The UC Board of Regents voted to divest from the corporations in 1986.
In a email statement to the Nexus, UCSB Students Supporting Israel (SSI) said they believe boycott movements such as BDS “have no place on campus” as they “facilitate hate and take away from positive and effective discussion.”
“The previous Senate’s attempt at a BDS bill was inherently discriminatory, and even hoped to financially penalize students who chose not to participate. Not only did this violate the viewpoint neutrality clauses in place for our student fees, but many Israeli companies on the boycott list were suppliers of Kosher food which many Jewish students have relied on,” the statement read. “SSI is an apolitical organization, however a federal ban of boycott movements goes to show how harmful and antisemitic these movements have become across UC campuses and the United States.”
UCSB Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) did not respond to requests for comment.
A.S. President and third-year global studies, communication and Spanish triple major Le Anh Metzger said that she and other A.S. presidents across the UCs are currently working on a joint statement.
UCSB media spokesperson Kiki Reyes said in a statement to the Nexus that UC has “strongly and consistently” opposed the calls for boycotts and divestments from Israel, clarifying that this has been a longstanding position of the UC Office of the President and chancellors of “every campus.”
“The university stands firm in the conviction that a boycott and resolution of this kind poses a direct and serious threat to the academic freedom of our students and faculty and to the unfettered exchange of ideas and perspectives on our campuses,” the statement read.
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You are one sick Nazi.