Student groups at Columbia University are demanding the school to withdraw investment funds from companies profiting from Israel’s military action in Gaza. Columbia’s endowment, managed by a university-owned investment firm, is worth $13.6 billion. The group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, is calling for divestment from weapons manufacturers and tech companies doing business with Israel, accusing them of profiting from genocide and apartheid in Palestine. This is not the first time Columbia students have pushed for divestment, with a history of activism dating back to the 1968 student occupation and hunger strikes over various issues.
In 2000, an advisory committee on socially responsible investing was established at Columbia, allowing students to submit divestment proposals related to the university’s investments. Columbia University Apartheid Divest submitted a formal proposal to withdraw investments related to Israel in December, which has not been successful thus far. Despite the lack of success, students at Columbia College voted to support the divestment proposal. Student activists are continuing their efforts to push the university to adopt the proposal, citing a legacy of calling for freedom, liberation, and equality for oppressed peoples around the world.
Columbia has a history of divestment decisions, including refraining from investing in tobacco, private prison operations, thermal coal, Sudan, and fossil fuels. In the 1980s, Columbia students called for divestment from companies doing business in South Africa over apartheid policies. Despite initial resistance from university trustees, continued student demonstrations and pressure led to the majority of Columbia’s investments in American companies operating in South Africa being sold. Columbia was the first Ivy League university to divest from South Africa, with other colleges later following suit.
Student activists have successfully pushed Columbia to divest from different areas over the years. In 2015, Columbia became the first US university to divest from private prison companies following student activism raising concerns about human rights abuses. In 2019, students associated with the climate activism organization Extinction Rebellion staged a hunger strike to push the university to divest from all fossil fuels, resulting in a formal divestment proposal being presented. The fossil fuel divestment policy was ultimately approved by Columbia’s Board of Trustees in 2021, inspiring similar commitments at other Ivy League universities.
Despite criticisms of divestment movements for being symbolic, student activists at Columbia have shown that symbols have power and can lead to institutional change. These movements have shown that a small group of students can transform an institution like Columbia University with the support and buy-in from the wider community. The history of student activism and successful divestment efforts at Columbia highlight the impact that student-led campaigns can have on institutional investment decisions and social responsibility initiatives.
