Updated 4:38 p.m.
Sacramento State announced it has amended several of its posted policies after pro-Palestinian protesters set up an encampment on university grounds for over a week.
The demonstrators, led by Students for Justice in Palestine Sac State, have been camping in the university’s quad since April 29 to protest the war in Gaza.
Upon setting up camp, they released a list of demands on social media that included divesting “from all companies and partnerships that actively participate in the occupation, colonization and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people” and defending all student activism.
On April 30, Sac State President Luke Wood initially said the group would be allowed to stay indefinitely, but on May 1, campus officials clarified that the encampment was permitted to stay through May 8 at midnight.
Officials with Sac State said that the “encampment will be ending.” When asked if they planned to leave campus, protesters at the encampment on Wednesday replied, “no comment.” At around 2:45 p.m. the same day, many demonstrators were seen packing up.
“Being a part of the student intifada is an honor,” said a SJP Sac State organizer who did not share their name during a press conference on Wednesday. “No student wants their tuition to ever go toward ethnic cleansing or genocide of anyone. Especially when you are Palestinian, you are forced into a terrible position of being complicit in the genocide of your own people. To be able to achieve full divestment at the Sacramento State level, with actual policy change, feels like one win in a pot of many more to come.”
In a statement sent to CapRadio, Sac State officials said they “have created a policy on socially responsible investment,” and that they “believe it’s important that our efforts to fund students’ education do not rely upon us benefiting from companies that profit from ethnic cleansing, genocide, or human rights violations.”
They added that the updated policies are “intentionally meant to cover the many atrocities and challenges that are taking place all over the world.”
The university’s policy website lists three recent changes, including an update to making amendments to existing policy, another update to its policies around auxiliary organizations, and a presidential memoranda.
In the presidential memorandum, Wood writes that the university “opposes and condemns all acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing, terrorism and other activities that violate fundamental human rights.”
“Student protests and political action are cornerstones of higher education and democracy, and we unequivocally condemn hate and bias in all forms,” the memoranda reads. “We support students’ right to engage in peaceful activism without fear for their personal safety. … We ask that everyone do their part to support one another, to ensure that CSU Sacramento is a safe and inclusive place for all.”
In the updated policy on auxiliary organizations, university officials wrote that Sac State will begin directing “its auxiliaries … to investigate socially responsible investment strategies which include not having direct investments in corporations and funds that profit from genocide, ethnic cleansing, and activities that violate fundamental human rights.” (Editor’s note: CapRadio is an auxiliary of Sacramento State.)
The university added that while they currently do “not have any direct investments in these areas,” they would direct auxiliaries “to ensure that the University’s investment portfolios remain free of such direct investments” and would be taking a “human rights-based approach to investments” going forward.
The updated policy also includes an annual review of auxiliary investments.
The only change to the policy on amending existing policy included the addition of the following statement: “CSU Sacramento opposes and condemns all acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and other activities that violate fundamental human rights. CSU Sacramento will not engage in any activity or enter into any agreement that conflicts with these values.”
The Hillel at Davis and Sacramento, an organization dedicated to supporting Jewish college students in the Sacramento region, has not responded to the news of the policy changes. However, in a social media post last week, they said they were “closely monitoring this ongoing situation” and added that they were working together with campus police to “ensure the safety and well-being of all Jewish and Israeli students on campus.”
While demonstrations at some campuses escalated into violence and arrests — including at California State Polytechnic University Humboldt and UCLA — no such incidents were reported at Sac State.
The California State University has previously said in an April 30 statement that it would not “alter existing investment policies related to Israel or the Israel-Hamas conflict.”
“While the CSU affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a divestment of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses,” the statement goes on to read.
Editor’s note: This story was updated after Sacramento State revised its statement to remove language about reaching an agreement with demonstrators.
Editor’s note: CapRadio is an auxiliary organization of Sacramento State. CapRadio is licensed to Sacramento State, which is also an underwriter.
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