Georgetown, Divest! Coalition presents to GUSA Senate

This afternoon, coalition members Jackson Perry and Elise Garofalo delivered a presentation in front of the GUSA Senate about the University’s blatant lack of policies of socially responsible investing. After the short presentation (which is available at the end of this post), Perry and Garofalo answered questions from GUSA Senators and GUSA President Calen Angert about Georgetown’s investment policies and about our campaign’s goals in terms of the Israeli-Palestinian context. Several Senators voiced concern over Georgetown’s failure to establish policies of socially responsible investment, and support for a potential GUSA resolution on the matter. Others were skeptical of the coalition’s decision to focus on companies profiting from human rights violations in Israel and Palestine, rather than broadening the focus to companies anywhere who profit from human rights violations. Perry responded that he supported divestment from such companies, and that the focus on the context of Israel-Palestine in particular was because of the length and severity of the conflict and the human rights violations perpetrated there, and the unique role America plays in maintaining the conflict. Furthermore, our coalition members argued that by supporting our call for a mechanism to substantively address to student concerns about University investments, it will become easier for all students to raise questions and concerns. GUSA Speaker Adam Talbot was troubled by the facts presented by the coalition, and stated that he plans to write a letter to the administration about this issue.

Presentation to GUSA 4.18.10