Students ask University of California to divest from Sudan
Jan 19, 2006 (SAN DIEGO) — University of California regents moved a step closer Thursday to divesting millions of dollars from companies doing business in Sudan in protest of the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region, where thousands have died in a conflict between ethnic African tribes and government-supported Arab militias.
The board, which met at UC San Diego Thursday, voted to send letters to fund managers expressing their concerns. They also appointed a task force to draw up a more detailed plan, identifying affected companies and the legal and financial implications of divestment.
The move follows a months-long student campaign urging UC officials to take a stand. About 200 students were on hand Thursday with some marching outside the meeting while others appealed directly to the board.
“The regents should choose a policy that goes well beyond rhetoric and lends momentum to a nationwide campaign that may very well be crucial to those still clinging to life in Darfur,” said Jason Miller, a medical student at UC San Francisco.
Congresswomen Linda T. Sanchez, D-Lakewood, and Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, along with 18 other members of California’s congressional delegation, also are urging UC to divest.
Some regents indicated they’re ready to do that.
“Every day that this goes on is a day that some of us feel unclean,” said Regent Norm Pattiz.
But others advised getting more information.
“The situation cries for us to act and I think that what’s being proposed is action,” said Regents’ Chairman Gerald Parsky.
Violence flared in the Darfur region of western Sudan in 2003 when rebels began fighting what they saw as years of neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin. The government is accused of responding with a counterinsurgency campaign in which ethnic Arab militia have committed wide-scale abuses against ethnic Africans.
The government denies that it supports the Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed.
According to U.N. officials, at least 180,000 people have died and an estimated 2 million have been forced to flee.
A preliminary analysis of how much money UC could divest indicated a range from $19.9 million to $2.6 billion, depending on what companies are chosen. UC doesn’t own stock directly in companies doing business with Sudan but has invested in pooled funds that include those companies.
After the vote, Miller said he was encouraged by the appointment of a task force and said students will be back at the regents’ next meeting in March to press for divestment.
Elsewhere, Stanford, Harvard and Samford universities have divested from companies doing business in Sudan; Illinois passed a law requiring that the state divest about $1 billion in pension investments in companies doing business there.
UC has used divestment to send a message before, withdrawing $3 billion in investments from South Africa in 1986 to protest the apartheid government then in power.
One of the most touching speakers of the day was UCLA sophomore Charn Chao who said members of her own family suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
“I came here today to beg you to divest because we can save so many lives,” Chao said, fighting back tears as she described how her mother managed to survive the violence. “I’m asking for you to give a chance for people like my mother to have children like me who can attend such a prestigious university.”
Also Thursday, regents voted to give UC’s president more power over executive pay.
Under the old pay system, regents individually approved all salaries of more than $168,000. The new system puts top executives into broad pay categories and allows the president to move employees within those ranges. UC officials say the new system is more efficient but critics say it opens the door to increased executive salaries.
UC has been heavily criticized for compensation practices following reports in the San Francisco Chronicle that top executives were quietly awarded millions in bonuses and other perks despite a budget crisis that forced student fee hikes.
Regents on Thursday endorsed a recommendation that they keep a closer eye on what departing employees receive, ordering that any separation agreements worth $100,000 or more come before the board for approval.
(AP)