Divestment referenda proposed to senate, demonstration and postering resolution passes

By James Cancelarich     10/22/24 10:53pm

Four referenda were introduced to the Student Association during the Oct. 21 senate meeting that call for university divestment from Israel-aligned companies and a university condemnation of the “horrific violence” in Gaza as part of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The SA also passed S.RES 05, a resolution that asks the university to review its recently revised demonstration and postering policies.

S.REF 01 asks the Rice Management Company to disclose all of its holdings and investments. S.REF 02 asks that Rice divest from any companies with financial ties to Israel, with specific reference to Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, Chevron and others. S.REF 03 asks for a university statement condemning genocide and scholasticide in Palestine. S.REF 04 asks the university to institutionalize an “anti-colonial commitment” by materially supporting Palestinian and anti-colonial scholarship.

A referendum is a general student body vote on a single political question, according to the SA Constitution. The Senate may request for a referendum by a two-thirds vote in favor by SA voting members. If passed by the Senate, the referendum is then presented to the student body for a vote. If there is a 20% voter turnout with two-thirds approval from the student body, the referendum passes. In the cases of S.REF 1-4, the referenda would then be presented to the university administration for consideration. A resolution is a view or policy that is decided on solely by voting members of the senate.

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The referenda are expected to come to a vote at the Senate meeting next week, Oct. 28. 

Arman Saxena, author of the referenda, said that Senate voting members are not voting on whether they agreed with the contents of the referenda, but if they believe the questions posed should be voted on by the general student body.

“[This is] direct democracy in that it allows the student body itself to vote on what they want to see from administration,” Saxena, a Lovett College junior, said during the senate meeting.

Editor’s note: Arman Saxena is one of the Thresher’s Arts & Entertainment editors.

Following the introduction of the referenda, eight students gave one-minute speeches, four in favor of and four against the referenda. Many were cut short by a timer.

S.RES 05 asks the university to create a commission with students and faculty to consider and revise the recently updated postering and demonstration policies.

“The restrictions could permit current or future administrators from overly restricting any campus speech or action,” the authors of S.RES 05 allege in the resolution.

SA President Jae Kim said that the resolution is unlikely to be adopted by university administrators in its entirety, but could be the beginning of a conversation.

“The administration is not going to take this as it is presented,” Kim, a Brown College senior, said during the senate meeting. “[We will] enter [into] constructive conversations with upper administration with student feedback on what this policy will look like.”

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