(PartiallyPolitics.com) – The Brown Divest Coalition organized a University Hall sit-in where they demanded that the school divest “its endowment from Israeli military occupation” following an increased escalation in the region which resulted in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
On Monday, following the start of the sit-in protest, there were a total of forty-one students who were arrested. The students were charged with having trespassed onto school grounds according to the school In a statement the institution noted that Brown’s Department of Public Safety had charged the students and that such disruptions to the University’s secure buildings would not be accepted. The University further pointed out that they were ready to potentially escalate the criminal charges against students if any future incidents where secure buildings are occupied by students occur.
University President Christina H. Paxson engaged with the protesters at the sit-in and proceeded to write a letter in which she stated that their demands would not be met, and informed them of possible ways in which they could put forward a new divestment proposal that the school would be willing to consider.
Brian Clark, a spokesman for the university pointed out that the University’s endowment is invested for the most part through “external specialist investment managers” who share the ethics and values of the school’s community.
Students were informed following the start of the sit-in on Monday morning that if they did not exit the premises by 6 p.m. they were going to be arrested. The school further expressed concerns about the protesting policy of the university as well as the fire code.
In a statement, Brown pointed out that this was the second big incident of students trespassing into a non-residential building after the end of operating hours, and that if this continues the University is fully expanding to recommend more criminal misdemeanor charges for future incidents following this latest incident.
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