Students call on Loyola to show 'Jesuit values' and divest from Israel
The Coalition for Solidarity and Justice at Loyola University Chicago staged a divestment protest against Israel after a financial town hall meeting on campus during Feb. 14.
The protest involved approximately 100 students who held signs including 'Stop Funding War,' and displayed a banner reading, 'War is Death Loyola Divest.'
The Coalition for Solidarity and Justice at Loyola University Chicago staged a divestment protest against Israel after a financial town hall meeting on campus during Feb. 14.
The protest involved approximately 100 students who held signs including “Stop Funding War,” and displayed a banner reading, “War is Death Loyola Divest,” according to The Loyola Phoenix. They also allegedly chanted throughout the protest, “Board of Trustees, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.”
“Loyola divest from weapons manufacturers which arm Israel’s Genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,” a flyer that was handed out at the protest reportedly read, as reported by the Phoenix.
“Why does our money fund genocide?,” it continued. “Loyola University, stand true to your Jesuit values and divest from war.”
During the protest, students reportedly gave speeches to further promote divestment from companies connected to Israel.
“Knowing divestment has been something that has been on everybody’s plate for a while now, we decided that today might have been the best day to protest against the university’s awful, awful investments,” Students for Justice in Palestine President Lena Abushaban told the Phoenix. “There’s a lot of traffic in here today. We wanted to make sure that we were being seen and we were being heard.”
A Loyola communications official, Matthew McDermott, informed the Phoenix that divestment from the companies the anti-Israel protesters highlighted would be impracticable.
“Loyola has already adopted and published the Sustainable Investment Policy, which considers the University’s commitment to sustainability, and the aspiration to contribute to a more just, humane, and sustainable world in our investment policy and practices,” he said. “As such, Loyola will not adopt other calls for divestment.”
Loyola’s Sustainable Investment Policy is an investment strategy that prioritizes combating climate change, taking into account Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors and resisting investment in fossil fuel companies.
On the same day as the protest, Loyola Chief Financial Office Wayne Magdziarz spoke on the topic of investments into companies that manufacture weapons.
“Wayne [Magdziarz] pointed out that, of that 7%, there is a small 0.32% of immaterial/unavoidable holdings of companies that we might not directly invest in but — by nature of an index fund that holds hundreds of stocks — have minimal exposure to in the portfolio,” Matthew McDermott also wrote to the Phoenix.
“Today, the Coalition for Solidarity and Justice attended a Finance Town Hall to discuss the University’s investment portfolio and brought up concerns regarding the genocidal corporations Loyola University Chicago is currently invested in,” Loyola’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter posted to Instagram that same day,
“Students were met with remarks such as having our demands be within the ‘parameters of realism,’ as well as stating our concerns ‘weren’t practical,’” the post added.
Campus Reform has contacted Loyola University Chicago and its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
