MAY 3, 2024 DIVESTMENT TAHRIR from page 4 genocide and mass ethnic cleansing.” According to an article published by the University Record on March 28, “The Board of Regents has announced it will not divest from companies linked to Israel, reaffirming its longstanding policy to shield the endowment from political pressures and base investment decisions on financial factors such as risk and return. ‘The Board of Regents has heard multiple calls for divestment from our endowment of companies linked to Israel. We have listened carefully,’ Regent Sarah Hubbard said at the board’s March 28 meeting. “We are not moving to make any divestment of any kind.’” The Regents nor President Santa Ono have made a public statement since the beginning of the encampment, although a University spokesperson issued a statement to the Michigan Daily that it supports the right to peaceful protest. Interviews from “It’s Hot in Here with Silver Lining” Students and community members have been giving updates and reports about the encampment through social media, messaging apps and freeform radio. WCBN DJ “Silver Lining” interviewed campers and played live interviews over the radio during their show on April 24. The first student they interviewed is Palestinian and has relatives who survived the 1948 Nakba. “There is a sense of urgency … I am grateful for that … we need to recenter ourselves and remember the reason we’re out here… is for Gaza and for the people who are facing the worst of it. "We get to use new tents that we set up with no threat of bombardment. While people are sleeping in makeshift tents, among the rubble, [with] multiple family members lost, missing and deceased … We are definitely privileged … we should be using that privilege any way we can to fight for them and to get the university to stop funding genocide.” They continued, “The University pushed us to this point. We didn’t just wake up and decide ‘Oh this is what we’re gonna do.’ We got to this point from the disruptive action policy proposal, where the University was trying to suppress student protestors through arrests of peaceful protest, refusal to meet with us, refusal to listen to what we have to say, ignoring it when we do say it. “We’re forcing the University to listen to our demands and listen to what we have to say.” A sign flies above the camp reading “Liberated Zone.” To another interviewee, this simply means that participants “have control over what is happening [at the camp].” This second camper said, “[The police] are aware this movement on campus is popular. They saw that when the [New York Police Department] arrested 150 students at Columbia, over 200 took their place. So, we hope that the administration knows they can’t successfully repress this movement … If the university tries to repress this encampment, the community will come out and will respond … What it will look like in the next few days, no one knows. We fully intend to grow; we anticipate having a lot of community support. We’re only growing stronger.” “It’s Hot in Here with Silver Lining” airs on WCBN (88.3 FM-Ann Arbor) Wednesdays at 2 p.m. You can also listen to the archived show on Spotify by searching “It’s Hot in Here with Silver Lining.” Legacy of student movements for divestment In the spring of 1977 the U-M Southern African Liberation Committee and the African Students’ Association began a campaign for divestment from South African apartheid. Through similar actions led by student organizers — protests at Regents meetings, campus pickets, building a “shanty” GROUNDCOVER NEWS 7 on the Diag and occupying it 24/7 — divestment from South Africa was achieved. On April 14, 1983 the Board of Regents passed a historic “90% Resolution” that directed administration to divest “from all American corporations with operations in South Africa except for those with notable economic presence in Michigan.” Before that, from 1965-1972, the anti-Vietnam War movement led by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Students for a Democratic Society organized anti-war actions that disrupted the university’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Notably, the U-M Central Student Government originated from these student protests. A detailed history of these student movements can be found at michiganintheworld.history.lsa.umich.edu/ antiapartheid/ The Tahrir Coalition carries this torch. Activities at the Popular University for Gaza at U-M include rallies, teach-ins, movies, art builds, Passover ceremonies, traditional prayers and more — and are led and attended by the many, increasing encampment participants. Amidst it all, you can still find students working on finals and end-of-semester assignments. At the time of publication, the encampment stands: alive, well and growing. 6 24/7 mental health and substance use support 734-544-3050 LEARN MORE about programs funded by the community mental health and public safety preservation millage
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