By Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)

Last May, Chapman Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) established the Gaza Solidarity encampment on school grounds in an effort to both bring light to the ongoing genocide of Palestinians and Chapman University’s complicity in the violence via its endowment investments. In the two weeks the encampment was up, we hosted educational speakers, art-making events and connected with the outside community. These numerous community members donated food, performed live music and led religious customs. Though SJP has certainly pressured the university to divest, the group has been in alignment with Chapman’s purported mission statement. We have encapsulated its core values: to inquire, practice ethics and be productive in our lives as global citizens.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip has only risen. The total has stood at over 40,000 for months, but this number fails to count Palestinians who died due to shut hospitals, contaminated water, famine and diseases including Hepatitis, Gastroenteritis, and Polio. In a study by The Lancet, it was estimated that the death toll in Gaza could be well over 186,000 – a staggering 7 to 9% of the population. This systemic violence is not isolated from the West Bank, where the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have launched the largest raid in the territory since 2002. In this campaign, the IOF have killed dozens and continued orders to demolish thousands of homes. Last week, soldiers targeted peace activists defending Palestinian land, murdering 26-year-old University of Washington graduate Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. This terroristic violence isn’t new and it won’t stop without definitive action. The liberation we strive for is not exclusive to Palestine. This fight is intersectional and waged for all people everywhere.

Throughout the summer, current and former students, as well as faculty and staff, researched, structured and crafted a divestment proposal. While Chapman limited our freedom of speech by banning encampments, we continued to pursue what we set out to achieve and submitted our proposal to the Board of Investors in August. Our formal demands which will be presented to the board on Sept. 10, 2024 are:

1. Immediate Phased Divestment of Funds found to be a part of the Military Industrial Complex: cessation of new investments in the targeted sector, analysis based on a ratings system, and upon findings, subsequent reinvestment in ethical alternatives that have strong Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) standards.

2. Adoption of a Policy of Social Responsibility in Investing, which includes screening criteria suggested by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), as well as expanded ESG criteria.

3. A Task Force made up of students, faculty, staff, and chair to ensure ethics in investments.

4. Transparency in the process of divestment through updates to all stakeholders — students, alumni, faculty and staff, and the broader community.

Divestment might seem radical to some, but it is a deeply pertinent issue to many and holds an important place in a multitude of justice movements. At the time of writing, our petition calling for Chapman to divest has garnered nearly 1,800 signatures, showing its inherent popularity. Divestment has been a valuable pressure point on violent institutions since the successful campaign that toppled Apartheid South Africa. Actions like these are not foreign to this university; in fact, Chapman became accustomed to divestment with the 2022 board decision to divest from fossil fuel companies. Thus, our demands to hold the university accountable to the ethics and standards it sets forth are not unreasonable.

Chapman University — live up to the principles you set out for your students. Divest now!