Loyola Marymount student gov president vetoes anti-Israel boycott bill
The student government president at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California vetoed a bill that would have endorsed the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement and avoided spending money on companies that are associated with Israel.
The student government president at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California vetoed a bill that would have endorsed the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement and avoided spending money on companies that are associated with Israel.
According to the Los Angeles Loyolan, the student government senate passed the resolution and bylaw clause on April 4. The Associated Students of Loyola Marymount University President Drew Hartz vetoed the bill on Thursday.
“This decision was to try to best represent all 7,100 students or over 7,100 students and to do right by all those we represent,” said Hartz. “And really the decision is just an effort to maintain ongoing dialogue, but with all perspectives included in the process so that hopefully ASLMU can serve as a mechanism for uplifting students and a force for unity rather than division.”
The original resolution and bylaw change would have prevented the student government from making purchases that are associated with Israel.
According to the student government’s website, it has an operating budget of $750,000.
The resolution was brought up by the Students for Justice in Palestine Chapter at Loyola Marymount.
In an Instagram post, the Loyola Marymount SJP chapter wrote it was “disappointed” by the veto.
”We are disappointed by his failure to respect the consensus reached by the ASLMU Senate’s unanimous vote and more so by his decision to pursue a veto while making no effort to acknowledge students’ sustained effort over the last few months to create a fact and humanity based dialogue about how to invest our student funds ethically,” the SJP chapter wrote. “A veto on this proposal is an attack on marginalized students on this campus, of whom are directly impacted by the violence of the genocide in Palestine, and also takes a clear stance against the liberation of all people.”
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The veto can be overridden by the student government senate with a three-fourths vote.
