University of Maryland student government committee rejects proposal to divest from companies linked to Israel
The University of Maryland's Student Government Association recently voted against a proposal to divest from companies tied to violence in several regions, including Palestine.
UMD's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine criticized the decision as a failure to address human rights concerns.
The University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) Student Government Association (SGA) recently rejected a proposal to divest from companies that have connections to the state of Israel.
The divestment resolution failed with 265 votes in favor and 343 votes against, according to The Diamondback. It would have removed investments from companies with connections to violence in Myanmar, the Philippines, and Palestine.
“I don’t think it’s right for any student to be complicit in genocide, and I don’t think it’s right for [this university] to be complicit in genocide,” UMD sophomore Sarah Edwan told The Diamondback after the vote. “They need to cut all ties with weapons manufacturers.”
According to the outlet, undegraduate students who have attended at least one prior committee hearing could vote on the resolution.
UMD’s chapter of the controversial anti-Israel student group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) released a statement condemning the SGA vote on Instagram on Nov. 7.
“Yesterday, UMD’s Student Government Association betrayed its ethical responsibility. Genocide is not controversial,” UMD’s SJP chapter posted. “Their refusal to hear the calls of the students they represent-to divest from weapons manufacturers that are profiting from the death and devastation of the Palestinian people-is rooted in dehumanization, racism, and xenophobia.”
“While the UMD community grieves the death of their family members-murdered by weapons that our university funds-our student government chose to stay complicit in their murder and displacement,” the SJP group’s post continued.
“In April 2024, after 193 days of indiscriminate bombing, SGA had the chance to call for divestment from these blood-soaked corporations,” the statement concluded. “They failed us then, and they fail us now. SGA ignored the demands of pro-Palestinian students from all walks of life to divest from industries fueling a settler colony —one built on apartheid, death, and ethnic cleansing—to perpetrate genocide.”
In March, anti-Israel protestors disrupted a speech given at the University of Maryland.
Pro-Palestine protesters shut down a Democratic House of Representatives speech at the University of Maryland, and the school’s president called it an example of free speech.
Several minutes into Rep. Jamie Raskin’s speech at the University of Maryland, the student activists started disrupting his presentation. The school’s president eventually shut down the event, calling the incident indicative of “free speech.”
“He came here to speak about where our democracy is going in our country,” the president, Daryll Pines, said. “What you saw play out actually was democracy and free speech and academic freedom. From our perspective as a university, there are the difficult conversations that we should be having.”
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Maryland, College Park for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
