Resolution (Updated 2015)

RESOLUTION PASSED BY EARLHAM STUDENT SENATE

SPRING 2015

Student Resolution in Support of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Earlham

April 2015

Authored by BDS Earlham

1. WHEREAS Earlham College’s Mission Statement states that the college shares “a concern  for the world in which we live and for improving human society” by educating “morally sensitive leaders for future generations;” and,
2. WHEREAS Earlham College’s Principles and Practices state that: “we work actively for the just and peaceful transformation of conflict, and for the removal of causes of violence and injustice. We recognize and accept conflict as a necessary part of life with others, and work from conflict towards more just, nonviolent, and sustainable communities;” and,
3. WHEREAS the peace testimony of the Religious Society of Friends with which Earlham College is affiliated, states that we should “live in that light and power that takes away the occasion for war,” which Quaker organizations interpret to mean that the toil of our peace work should not only be turned towards existing conflicts, but also to those structures, issues, and institutional relationships which give rise to conflicts; and,
4. WHEREAS the College’s Diversity Aspirations Vision Statement states that “to help redress such injustice (i.e. systemic cultural and economic oppression) and to make our college community more representative of our society and the world, we seek to promote the presence and voice of groups that have been historically oppressed because of such factors as race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, and physical ability,” which means that the Earlham community strives to foster a diversity of viewpoints on campus and redress structures that work to silence voices through systemic marginalization; and,
5. WHEREAS, BDS Earlham and the international BDS movement support the recognition of all peoples’ fundamental and inalienable human rights, and thus stand against all forms of systemic oppression and marginalization, including racism, homophobia, ableism, sexism, and anti-semitism;
6. WHEREAS Earlham College’s Socially Responsible Investment Policy (SRIP), written by the college’s Socially Responsible Investment Advisory Committee (SRIAC), states that equity and fixed income managers cannot invest in companies which SRIAC identifies as being involved in “persistent and widespread behavior that results in any of the following: […]; [2] denigration of the dignity of individuals such as unfair labor practices and/or discrimination; [3] violations of local, state, and national regulations, laws, and statutes and/or; [4] active involvement with governments in the violation of human rights;” and,
7. WHEREAS at least 20 Student Governments from colleges and universities across the country have passed resolutions endorsing BDS at their institutions and/or a decision to divest, including Stanford University, Northwestern University, 7 out of the 9 University of California institutions, DePaul University, Wesleyan University and Loyola University of Chicago, among others; and,
8. WHEREAS research conducted by Earlham College students demonstrates that Earlham College invests in companies that are profiting from violations of International Law and the universal Human Rights Principles, as articulated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, through involvement in illegal settlements, exploitation of Palestinian resources, markets, and labour, and repression of the occupied Palestinian population; and,
9. WHEREAS a broad group of Palestinian civil society organizations called for global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) in July 2005 against Israel as part of a non-violent campaign to demand that Israel comply with International Law and respect the universal Human Rights Principles by ending the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, by dismantling the separation wall, by granting equal rights to the Arab/Palestinian citizens of Israel, and by respecting the Palestinian refugees’ right of return as articulated in the United Nations Resolution 194; and,
10. WHEREAS Earlham College students are inspired by the intention of the global Boycott Divestment Sanctions campaign and have designed a divestment campaign that is tailored to our campus, which, rather than calling for a complete boycott of Israel, focuses on companies in which Earlham College invests that are directly involved in violations of International Law and the universal principles of Human Rights; and,
11. WHEREAS the United Nations Human Rights Commission, independent human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, al-Haq, B’Tselem,the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions, and other non-governmental organizations have documented widespread and gross violations of International Law and the universal Human Rights Principles by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza; and,
12. WHEREAS Caterpillar and its Israeli subsidiary, Zoko Enterprises, profit directly from violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the universal Human Rights Principles by supplying the armor-plated and weaponized bulldozers that have been used in demolishing over 27,000 structures since 1967 and the construction of illegal Israeli settlements and by supplying both the unmanned bulldozers specially designed for urban warfare that were used by the Israeli military in Operation Cast Lead and the maintenance services for these tools during military operations; and,
13. WHEREAS Motorola profits directly from violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the universal Human Rights Principles by being the exclusive contracted supplier of encrypted mobile phone technology for the Israeli military and by providing virtual fence technology to illegal Israeli settlements; and,
14. WHEREAS Hewlett Packard profits from violations of International Law and the universal Human Rights Principles by supplying computers to the Israeli military and by owning Electronic Data Systems Israel, which produces the automated biometric access control system, Basel, which is installed at major checkpoints; and,

BE IT RESOLVED that this resolution be understood as a deliberate expression of support for justice, equality, and human rights, which builds on Earlham College’s history and Quaker affiliation, mission statement, and Principles and Practices and is consistent with Earlham College’s current policy on socially responsible investing; be it further

RESOLVED that the Earlham Student Senate endorses BDS Earlham’s request of Earlham College to ensure that its assets will no longer include holdings in Caterpillar, Motorola, and Hewlett Packard; be it finally,

RESOLVED that the Earlham Student Senate endorses BDS Earlham’s request of Earlham College, specifically the Socially Responsible Investment Advisory Committee, to remain committed to ensuring that its assets will not include companies materially supporting or profiting from Israeli violations of International Law and the universal Human Rights Principles  by constructing and sustaining illegal settlements, exploiting Palestinian resources, markets, and labour, and/or supplying equipment, knowhow, and services towards the repression of the occupied Palestinian population through the separation wall and checkpoints.

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