SJP-led petition to force referendum on divestment reaches over 650 signatures at University of Maryland
A petition requesting that the University of Maryland student government hold a campuswide referendum on divesting from defense contractors connected to Israel has garnered over 650 signatures.
On Nov. 6, the student government voted against a similar divestment measure, which the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter slammed as a decision that was 'rooted in dehumanization, racism, and xenophobia.'
A petition requesting that the University of Maryland (UMD) student government hold a campuswide referendum on divesting from defense contractors connected to Israel has garnered over 650 signatures.
Led by the university’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter, the petition would ask that the UMD Student Government Association (SGA) appeal to the university, several university foundations, and the University System of Maryland to divest from defense contractors connected to Israel and other nations, The Diamondback reports.
“[SGA] can’t deny that students of all walks of life are in favor of stopping our university’s complicit actions in the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people and war crimes all across the globe,” the SJP chapter said in a statement to The Diamondback.
Last month, the SJP group and the university’s “17 for Peace and Justice” organization took to Instagram to gain signatories of the petition.
”We need undergraduate students to sign this petition for the SGA to put a question about divestment from military companies on the ballot this spring,” the activist groups wrote. “This referendum will allow the entire student body to vote on the matter at the spring SGA elections.”
The two groups also indicated that the petition would only require 400 undergraduate signatures to force a referendum vote.
On Nov. 6, the SGA voted against a similar divestment measure, which the SJP chapter slammed as a decision that was “rooted in dehumanization, racism, and xenophobia.”
“We’re going to get the opportunity for every student who supports our cause, every student who wants to end this university’s complicity in human rights violations and genocide, the chance to have that voice heard,” a student board member of the Jewish Voices for Peace told The Diamondback.
While the petition appears to have garnered enough votes, the SGA will need to perform several steps before holding a spring referendum, such as verifying the authenticity of the signatures by contacting 5 percent of the students listed, according to The Diamondback.