In a long meeting on Tuesday night, the 16th Undergraduate Senate discussed whether or not to hold a vote on a resolution asking the University to divest from certain companies in Israel.

The resolution, which has been the topic of much discussion on campus, was on previous notice this week, meaning that the Senate was not actually voting on the resolution but only discussing it.

Much of the discussion focused on whether the Senate should be voting on such a resolution at all. Some Senators expressed concern that, on an issue as divisive as divestment, the Senate should not make a declaration of support for either position in the debate.

Other Senators countered that, because members of the student body want the Senate’s opinion on the issue, the Senate has an obligation to vote on the resolution.

A motion to postpone voting on the resolution indefinitely failed, and the Senate will officially consider the resolution next week.

Senator John-Lancaster Finley ’16 also refuted reports that if the ASSU were to face a lawsuit resulting from the bridge protest on Jan. 19, the ASSU would settle the case with money from reserve accounts.

Contact Andrew Vogeley at avogeley ‘at’ stanford.edu.