Students reject divestment proposals
S.REF 01 passes, urging investment transparency for RMC
The student body voted to pass S.REF 01, which asks the Rice Management Company to disclose all of its holdings investments, but rejected the remaining divestment proposals. While every ballot measure gained a majority of votes in favor, the remaining three did not achieve the two-thirds threshold required to pass.
A total of 1,898 students voted, amounting to a 39.7% voter turnout — just shy of the general February election’s 42.1%, the highest turnout since 2018. Student Association president Jae Kim attributed high turnout to the “novelty” of an off-cycle election, and said the referenda tackled subjects important to student voters.
S.REF 01, which passed with 71.5% approval, places the RMC under no obligation to disclose its holdings. The results will be sent to university administrators as a gauge of student opinion, Kim said. Voting closed Dec. 11 at noon.
If passed, the remaining proposals would have presented a series of opinions about the university’s financial policies — including, but not limited to, urging Rice to divest its funding from pro-Israel companies and adopting a commitment to “anti-colonial scholarship.”
The second, third and fourth referenda received 57.9%, 61.4% and again 61.4% approval, respectively.
They were passed by the SA senate on Oct. 28. Following a campaigning window, students began voting on Dec. 4.
This is the second SA attempt to address the Israel-Gaza war. Last semester, the Office of Access, Equity and Equal Opportunity ordered an indefinite halt on a resolution that proposed divesting SA-disbursed funds — including Blanket Tax money — from pro-Israel companies. The resolution was tabled due to a complaint alleging that the resolution was discriminatory; the complaint was eventually resolved with insufficient evidence to support wrongdoing.
[12/12/2024 7:25 p.m.] This article was updated to include comment from Kim about voter turnout and S.REF 01.
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