Board of Trustees Chair Art Peck sent an email to students, faculty and staff Oct. 14 announcing the Board decided not to adopt a student proposal calling for divestment from named companies and indexes associated with the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
In an interview with The Occidental, Peck said the proposal was evaluated according to the same four criteria which are used to evaluate any investment policy proposal. According to Peck, these criteria were developed in conversation with students, faculty and community members.
These criteria are listed in a template for submission of investment policy proposals, and state that any investment must: represent the shared interests and values of the whole college community; demonstrate the college’s portfolio would be counter to the college’s mission if the proposal was not adopted; have an impact on the target of the divestment that may influence its behavior; and not have long-term negative financial impact on the college’s resources.
Peck said the proposal did not provide a practical approach to managing the college’s endowment.
“The proposal requested immediate and permanent divestment,” Peck said. “Both are difficult because you would have to sell off and sell out of funds, either on the primary or the secondary market, and then, you would have to invest in funds that were committed to not investing in those noted companies or indexes going forward.”
According to Peck, if the proposal was adopted, it would be difficult to achieve the appropriate level of diversification for the college’s return aspirations. Peck said the college invests through financial managers and does not directly invest in equities or control individual equity investments.
“As you start being very specific about not investing in whatever, you end up eliminating choices of managers and funds,” Peck said. “[This decision] is really about making sure that we have the appropriate investment opportunities.”
Occidental President Tom Stritikus said the Board of Trustees considered a wide range of opinions received throughout the community input process.
“The Board’s responsibility was to evaluate a specific investment proposal in the context of its fiduciary obligations and responsibility to the College,” Stritikus said via email. “That decision does not diminish our concern for the humanitarian suffering in the region, nor does it reflect a judgment on the deeply held views from those in our community.”
Peck said the Board’s decision was based on whether divestment would be an appropriate action to take with the college’s endowment.
“There’s no one in the room who looks at what is happening [in Gaza] and doesn’t see the humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place,” Peck said.
Peck said the Board received many comments on the proposal which reflected a wide range of perspectives.
“There were strongly held points of view, representative of the entire spectrum of people who thought investment was appropriate, and people who thought it was inappropriate,” Peck said. “There was not a high degree of alignment.”
According to Peck, the board considered whether the proposal would be effective in influencing targeted organizations.
“Was this likely to change the behavior of the companies that we [would be] divesting in?” Peck said. “Was it likely to catalyze collective action?”
Peck said he has learned from the actions taken by boards at other colleges and universities.
“If you look across the broad swath of the higher educational landscape over the last couple of years, calls for divestments similar to this have taken place on so many campuses,” Peck said. “If you look at the actions that boards have taken, there have been very few.”
Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC) President Trisha Bhima said Oct. 7 that the Board of Trustees’ decision-making process does not feel transparent to students.
“We have been told so much as students to follow the processes to make our voice heard, whether that be talking to elected officials, or providing feedback on policies through the open forums,” Bhima said. “Time and time again, a lot of those processes are not respected by the administration.”
Bhima said students dissenting and demonstrating have become apathetic.
“Students [are] thinking that their voices don’t matter, that their voices are falling on deaf ears, and that there is no reason to engage in thoughtful dialogue with administrators or with trustees because nothing comes out of it,” Bhima said.
Stritikus said he is committed to working with ASOC, the Faculty Council and the Staff Council to cultivate an environment where different perspectives can be expressed and considered.
“I recognize how deeply important this issue is to many members of our community, particularly the students who devoted significant time and energy to advocating for change,” Stritikus said via email. “I appreciate the thoughtful approach the Board of Trustees took in considering the student proposal on divestment and the wide range of opinions we received through the community input process.”
Contact Ben Petteruti at petteruti@oxy.edu and Eli Heringman at heringman@oxy.edu
