BUZZ
Officials shrug off spring vote by student body
The University of California Berkeley will not be divesting from weapons companies any time soon.
Student government leaders say they have had no contact with trustees on the university’s foundation, which manages the endowment for the school. They have only had a meeting with chancellor’s chief of staff.
About 75 percent of students voted in April to call on the UC Berkeley Foundation to look into divestment from weapons manufacturers.
The student newspaper reported:
On May 22, five ASUC officials, including outgoing President Abigail Verino and Executive Vice President Isha Chander, posted with STEM4Palestine on Instagram that they had been denied a public meeting with the Foundation for the fall of this year.
“The UC Berkeley Foundation has a responsibility to be accountable to the campus community,” the post reads. “Instead, they want to meet behind closed doors and quietly make decisions that will continue to uphold the status quo, just like they did after the 2024 encampment.”
Officials differ on if the foundation can influence its own portfolio.
The chancellor’s chief of staff Rose Kim “said the Foundation had ‘zero influence’ in the Berkeley Endowment Management Company’s investment decisions,” The Daily Californian reported.
Spokesman Dan Mogulof said that is not true.
Activists also point to the fact the foundation has previously announced divestment from oil and gas in 2020.
Incoming student government officials say they plan to continue their push for divestment from weapons companies.
The weapons divestment campaign is closely tied to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel.
San Francisco State University agreed in 2024 to divest from four companies operating in Israel following months of discussions with pro-Palestinian student activists, as The College Fix previously reported.
“By standing with us, we were able to be the first university that was able to divest from major weapons manufacturers Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar, Palantir and Leonardo,” one student activist said.
Earlier this year, the Yale Endowment Justice Collective presented three divestment proposals to school officials, asking for them to end investments in oil, Israel, and weapons.
The group combined their various demands into one argument, writing:
While Palantir enables ICE’s terror and extreme cruelty, military weapons are turned against Palestinians, and Trump conspires with the oil oligarchy to assault Venezuela’s sovereignty, Yale once again places its billions before its mission to improve the world through education, preservation, and practice
“In 2026, we won’t stop fighting to win divestment from the industries deporting our neighbors, destroying our climate, and arming genocide,” the group promised.
