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Berkeley Chancellor: Student Senate Divestment Vote Will Not Change University Policy

(Daily Californian) Robert J. Birgeneau - To the members of the UC Berkeley community - in the wake of the ASUC [student] Senate's passage of SB 160, "A Bill In Support of Human Rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip" [calling to divest from companies affiliated with Israel's military]: The ASUC is an independent student organization, and its vote in this matter will not change investment policy established by the Regents of the University of California. In addition, it is my personal opinion that targeting a single nation or state in this highly complex world is not appropriate and does little to advance the cause of peace and coexistence. This, of course, is not the first time that the Israeli divestment issue has arisen on this campus and I sincerely hope that we can avoid the rancor and divisiveness that arose in the wake of a previous ASUC vote in 2010, even as we support every student's right to freedom of expression and acknowledge the diversity of views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All of our students must feel that the campus is a safe and inclusive environment for them, one in which they have the freedom to express their views without fear of intimidation. The writer is chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley.
2013-04-22 00:00:00
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