Students disrupt Wayne State Board of Governors meeting, seeking divestment from companies that profit from war

Wayne State University students interrupted a Board of Governors meeting on Thursday in an attempt to encourage the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel or those that profit from war.

In a resolution presented by the Wayne State Student Senate to the Board of Governors on Nov. 2, the body requested that the board “develop socially responsible criteria for our university’s investments to ensure that we are not complicit in war profiteering and investing in companies that knowingly contribute to or benefit from human rights violations in Palestine and around the world.”

Zaynah Jadallah, a Wayne State student senator who was present at Thursday’s meeting, says her school’s student body is diverse, and many feel a a great responsibility to address the Israeli bombardment in Gaza as the humanitarian crisis grows in severity, as well as to demand the university divest from companies like Boeing, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin.

“[The university has] the power, the full power and capacity to divest from these kinds of companies [that profit from war],” she said.

In a letter to the student senate, Wayne State President Kimberly Andrews Espy said that the university would not make a policy change without clear and broad consensus from its students, faculty and staff, adding that staff and students hold a variety of perspectives on issues in the Middle East. She also assured the student body of her trust in the WSU Foundation Board, which manages the investment policy for the WSU Foundation. 

“We are confident in the WSU Foundation Board’s expertise to manage our financial investments responsibly, and consistent with Wayne State’s mission and values,” she said

The WSU Foundation Board includes Wayne State’s president, members of the Board of Governors, other university executives, and alumni and business leaders with expertise in investment strategy, according to the letter.

At the meeting, student senator Ridaa Khan and others shared their distaste for Espy’s response. 

“We’ve heard that the words in the resolution could be hurtful to some, and that this is a pluralistic campus with diverse views without actually connecting those responses to the content of the resolution. Because if you did that, it would be nonsensical,” Khan said.

After public comment, about a dozen students began chanting: “How do you spell justice? BDS,” which stands for “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.”