Students support pro-Palestine divestment resolution

April 29, 2024, 1:06 a.m.

The Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) Elections Commission announced that the “Statement on Divestment” was passed by the student body on Sunday. Per preliminary 2024 election results, the statement was supposed by 74.64% of graduate student and 72.86% of undergraduate voters. 

Both undergraduate and graduate populations approved the advisory referendum with over 15% of their total populations voting in favor.

Students Against Apartheid in Palestine (SAAP) spearheaded the resolution. SAAP was formed after the University’s removal of a 120 day-long sit-in in February following negotiations between administrators and protestors. The ballot initiative is a part of SAAP’s platform to urge student participation in demanding divestment and transparency from the University.

The Statement on Divestment was created in “supporting the internationally recognized Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) campaign and calling for Stanford’s to divest its endowment from companies invited in apartheid Israel’s war crimes,” SAAP announced on Instagram. Specific companies mentioned included Chevron, Lockheed Martin and Hewlett-Packard.

According to SAAP, this bill is “the beginning for the collective student body to double down pressure” for University administration and the Stanford Board of Trustees to divest. 

“The student body has shown that we stand together for divestment, but the Stanford administration has not yet made any progress toward meeting this demand,” SAAP wrote on Instagram. “We must continue to demonstrate our power and voice until divestment.”

The Daily has reached out to the University and SAAP for comment. 

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