University of Washington students call for divestment, force cancelation of Board of Regents meeting
The students then established their own 'board' and voted for divestment from Israel.
The group describes itself as 'autonomous.'
University of Washington students forced the school’s Board of Regents to cancel a meeting because the board delayed a vote to divest from companies with financial ties to Israel until next year.
The group allegedly brought non-students into the Sept. 12 meeting and shouted down speakers who spoke against divestment during the public comment period.
The group, “UW Divest for Palestine,” describes itself on its Instagram page as an “[a]utonomous group of students advocating for divestment from Israel at the University of Washington.”
The students celebrated the canceled meeting on Instagram on Sept. 13.
“Today, the UW Board of Regents was forced to end their meeting early after a group of peaceful protestors autonomously disrupted the meeting by chanting and refusing to leave once public comment ended, based on the Board’s decision to delay voting on the divestment proposal from israel [sic] until March,” the post said.
That post also took credit for establishing what the group is calling “the people’s board,” which “voted” after the Board of Regents left the building.
“The protestors took over the board’s seats after they left, and established the people’s board which voted in favor of divestment,” the organization said, “cutting ALL ties with Boeing, and pay raises to all workers at UW!!!!”
The Board of Regents condemned the protest in a statement.
“The Board condemns these actions as antithetical to free dialogue and disrespectful of other UW community members,” the statement said. “The Board and the University will always prioritize safety and the free exchange of ideas and offered support to those who were shouted down and others who were scheduled to speak.”
The Board also noted that speakers who spoke in favor of divestment were allowed to speak freely as opposed to Jewish students who spoke against it.
“Speakers addressing labor issues and those calling for divestment from Israel had spoken without interruption,” the board said, “but when Jewish speakers opposed to divestment and concerned about antisemitism on campus began their comments, protestors repeatedly interrupted and shouted them down.”
Anti-Israel student groups have already had multiple divestment-from-Israel protests this fall. Students at the University of Oklahoma also held a protest on Sept. 12. San Francisco State University recently caved to student divestment calls while Chapman University in Orange, California, held firm.
Campus Reform contacted the Board of Regents for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
