Senate passes divestment referenda to student vote

By James Cancelarich     10/29/24 11:38pm

The Student Association passed four referenda calling for university response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in its Oct. 28 meeting. The general student body will vote on the referenda this academic year.

At the Oct. 28 meeting, SA voting members largely debated whether or not to pose the referenda to a student body vote, rather than the actual content. The referenda were introduced last week at the Oct. 21 senate meeting. Now that the referenda have passed in the senate, a two-thirds majority with a 20% student body turnout is needed for the referenda to pass, according to the SA constitution. If the referenda passes the student body vote, they then would be presented to university administrators for consideration.

According to SA President Jae Kim, if the senate expedited the referendum process, students would vote on four items by Thanksgiving break. Otherwise, the referenda would be included on the spring SA election ballot.

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S.REF 01 asks the Rice Management Company to disclose all of its investments and holdings. The referendum alleges that Rice Management Company intentionally hides its investments and that Rice may be “supporting entities complicit in wars, genocides or other injustices around the world” without students’ knowledge. S.REF 01 unanimously passed with 24 votes in favor. Two voting members abstained from voting.

S.REF 02 asks for university divestment from entities that profit off of the Israel-Hamas war or fund war and genocide. The referendum specifically references Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Elbit Systems of America and Chevron. S.REF 02 passed with 14 votes in favor, two votes against and 10 voting members abstaining.

S.REF 03 asks for a university statement condemning genocide and scholasticide in Gaza that is “perpetrated by the U.S.-Israel colonial war machine.” S.REF 03 unanimously passed with 17 votes in favor. Nine voting members abstained from voting.

S.REF 04 asks the university for a commitment to materially support anti-colonial scholarship, particularly Palestinian scholarship. S.REF 04 passed with 12 votes in favor, three votes against and 11 voting members abstaining.

Arman Saxena, author of the referenda, said that the Senate vote was not about whether members agreed with the referenda, but rather if they believed the student body should vote on the referenda.

“Many voting members may not feel comfortable voting on behalf of the entire student body because they want to be representatives of their constituents,” Saxena, a Lovett College junior, said. “This referenda process allows the student body itself to decide what they want to see from administration.” Editor’s note: Arman Saxena is one of the Thresher’s Arts & Entertainment editors.

Eight students gave two-minute speeches, four in favor of and four opposed to the referenda, before the vote took place. 

Students for Justice in Palestine organizer Matti Haacke spoke in favor of the referenda.

“Students at Rice and across the country have learned from leading scholars that colonial systems continue to oppress people worldwide, and they seek a move towards a more just and peaceful future,” Haacke, a Sid Richardson college senior, said. “I urge you to honor the integrity of this impulse and use your own position not to silence and suppress the movement, but to give each student at Rice the opportunity to make themselves heard, even as the administrators have failed them.”

Students Supporting Israel co-founder Giovanni Marinilli spoke against the referenda.

“This is a complex conflict,” said Marinilli, a Sid Richardson College senior. “We cannot let our anger ... let us forget that [these referenda are] one-sided and only acknowledge the pain of one side of this conflict.”

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