The 17 students who remained on hunger strike in support of divestment concluded their now eight-day refusal to eat at 5 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Stephen Robert 鈥�62 Campus Center, along with around 200 other students who joined a 32-hour solidarity fast.
鈥淩ather than continue the strike with now-obsolete demands, the strikers decided collectively to end their strike, along with 200+ student solidarity fasters, at 5 p.m. on Friday,鈥� stated a Brown Divest Coalition statement shared with The Herald by Strike Spokesperson Sam Stewart 鈥�24.
The strikers had demanded that the Corporation, the University鈥檚 highest governing body, consider during its February meetings a resolution to divest from companies 鈥渁ssociated with human rights abuses in Palestine鈥� 鈥� as identified in a 2020 by the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Practices.
On Feb. 2, Paxson wrote that she 鈥渨ould not commit to bring a resolution鈥� in front of the Corporation and suggested protesters file a proposal with the Advisory Committee on University Resource Management. Senior Vice President for Communications Cass Cliatt said that the contents of meetings are not public.
At the Campus Center, strikers shared their experiences and demonstrators sang before breaking fast by eating dates.
Earlier in the day, around 150 protesters demonstrated outside of Faculty Club, The Hope Club and the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs as members of the Corporation conducted their February meetings, The Herald previously reported.
The protest saw Corporation members come face-to-face with the strikers. No Corporation members responded when The Herald asked if the governing body discussed the divestment proposal in their meetings today. Multiple Corporation members were seen holding copies of the BDC鈥檚 extended 2020 ACCRIP , which were handed to them by protesters as they entered and exited the buildings.
The University has repeatedly stated that it does not directly invest in weapons manufacturers, and that it selects external investment 鈥渕anagers whose values are aligned with the Brown community,鈥� according to the Investment Office.
Over 100 students at Pomona College, the University of Chicago, Indiana University, Mount Holyoke College, Yale and Harvard have organized solidarity strikes in support of the strikers at Brown, according to a UChicago United for Palestine Instagram .
鈥淭hroughout the protest, the students鈥� health and well-being was our primary focus, as well as ensuring they understand the mechanisms available to all members of the Brown community to request that the University consider divesting its endowment from the assets of specific companies,鈥� President Christina Paxson P鈥�19 P鈥橫D鈥�20 wrote in an email to The Herald this Friday. 鈥淲e also made clear that the bar for divestment is very high 鈥� the University consistently rejects calls to use the endowment as a tool for political advocacy on contested issues.鈥�
鈥淢embers of the Brown Corporation during meetings this week acknowledged the activism on campus by students advocating for divestment, including the group of students engaged in the days-long protest that ended Friday evening,鈥� Paxson wrote.
鈥淭he Corporation members discussed education efforts to ensure the community is aware of the long-established mechanisms to formally request that the University consider divestment proposals,鈥� she added, stating that 鈥渘o new proposals for divestment had gone through this process for consideration at the February meetings.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 Note: Below is a summary of previous coverage by The Herald detailing common questions about the strike and related University policies.
What did the students demand?
The 17 student protestors refused food until the Corporation 鈥� the University鈥檚 highest governing body 鈥� 鈥渉ears and considers a divestment proposal鈥� during its meetings that began Thursday. The strikers say the proposal should be consistent with the 2020 by the University鈥檚 Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Practices that recommended divestment from 鈥渃ompanies which profit from human rights abuses in Palestine.鈥�
Paxson previously refused to bring ACCRIP鈥檚 recommendations to the Corporation for consideration, that the report 鈥渄id not meet established standards鈥� for divestment. On Friday, she maintained this position and refused to revisit her decision. She also denied the protestors鈥� request for a Corporation divestment resolution.
Instead, she encouraged the protestors to submit a divestment proposal to the Advisory Committee on University Resource Management 鈥� the successor to ACCRIP 鈥� instead of demanding a Corporation resolution.
The protestors have refused this referral to ACURM, saying that the length of time required to consider this proposal in the committee is 鈥渁n untenable timeline given the urgency of the crisis in Gaza,鈥� according to a statement from strike organizers to The Herald.
Past demonstrators, including the 41 students who were arrested during a December sit-in on trespassing charges, were previously referred to ACURM when they demanded divestment from 鈥淚sraeli military occupation.鈥�
What investments does the University hold?
At a November public meeting, representatives from the University鈥檚 Investment Office told attendees that Brown鈥檚 direct investments do not include weapons manufacturing or those with direct ties to Israel.
University Spokesperson Brian Clark echoed this statement in a Sunday email, writing that Brown is 鈥渘ot directly invested in any defense stocks or large munitions manufacturers.鈥�
A large portion of the University鈥檚 endowment is invested in external managers with portfolios that are undisclosed under contractual confidentiality provisions. At the November meeting, the Investment Office said none of these portfolios focus on weapons manufacturing and they select 鈥渕anagers whose values are aligned with the Brown community.鈥�
Clark also wrote on Sunday that the University is 鈥渃onfident that our external managers have the highest level of ethics and share the values of the Brown community, including the rejection of violence.鈥�
The University has only passed two full, official divestment resolutions in the past.
What health safeguards did the strikers have in place?
The protestors were cleared to participate in the strike by individual consultation with physicians prior to the demonstration, The Herald previously reported.
鈥淎ll strikers have been testing for COVID daily and constantly wearing high quality masks, as has anyone who has interacted with them,鈥� Stewart wrote.
According to Stewart, 鈥渢here are thorough contingency plans in place in case of an emergency鈥� as they continue 鈥渕onitoring vitals regularly to ensure we are up to date on striker health.鈥�
In a Feb. 2 letter to the protestors, Paxson encouraged the students to 鈥渟afeguard (their) health and well-being鈥� while exercising their 鈥渞ight to protest.鈥� She also highlighted University mental health and well-being resources.
She added that 鈥減rotest is also unacceptable if it creates a substantial threat to personal safety of any member of the community.鈥�
The University previously disenrolled four students participating in a hunger strike protesting the University鈥檚 partial divestment policy of South African apartheid in the 1980s. The then-administration cited health and liability concerns for the disenrollment, according to a 1986 article by The Herald.
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