Students should weigh in on divestment, investment transparency referenda
On Monday, the Senate passed four referenda calling for Rice to divest, be transparent with their investment holdings, condemn “ongoing genocide and scholasticide” and support “anti-colonial scholarship.” These proposals will now go to an undergraduate-wide student body vote as early as next month.
Resolutions, a formal expression of a Student Association “opinion or policy,” may be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. A referendum, on the other hand, opens “a single political question” up to a general vote from the whole student body, according to (what we think) is the latest version of the SA constitution.
Monday’s vote merely decided that every student should be able to weigh in on these questions. This is a good thing.
To be clear, this is not an endorsement, nor are we offering our opinion on the proposals’ content. But we think you should offer yours.
All students are affected by these referenda, particularly the two concerned with divestment and investments. The former explicitly references Rice’s partnerships with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Chevron, which often sponsor or partner with various departments across campus. The latter calls for the Rice Management Company, which oversees the university’s $8 billion endowment, to increase transparency about their investment holdings.
The RMC also, notably, manages property holdings in the surrounding area. Current juniors and seniors may remember what we’ve affectionately-dubbed “YoYo-Gate,” when the RMC terminated leases for YoYo’s Hot Dog and Oh My Gogi food trucks operating out of Rice Village in early 2023.
We don’t think the Student Association, which hasn’t seen voter turnout higher than 50% since 2018, should be the sole voice deciding questions like these. In this case, we’re glad they’re not.
Read the proposals. Talk to your new student representatives, your senators, your college presidents. Attend Senate meetings, if you so wish, and ask questions.
The referenda will be voted on soon — although knowing the Senate, probably not that soon — and we hope enough students make their voices heard.
Editor’s Note: Thresher editorials are collectively written by the members of the Thresher’s editorial board. Current members include Riya Misra, Spring Chenjp, Maria Morkas, Sarah Knowlton, Sammy Baek, Shruti Patankar, Juliana Lightsey, Arman Saxena and Kathleen Ortiz.
Arts & Entertainment Editor Arman Saxena was recused from this editorial due to his authorship of the referenda.
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