NORTHAMPTON — Smith Justice for Palestine students held a demonstration and town hall meeting on the Smith College campus Sunday to denounce the administration’s continued refusal to divest from aerospace and defense companies.
Dozens of people gathered in a small group spread out on Sealy Lawn on the Northampton campus to discuss the use of donated funds for munitions research and manufacturing.
Sofia Haydn-Kahn, a third-year student at the school, said the university invests dividends from direct investments in exchange-traded funds, which are bundles of assets traded on exchanges. These funds are typically short-term investments used to reduce risk and exposure while diversifying a school’s investment portfolio.
Mr Haydon Kahn said the group’s concerns were centered around Mr Smith’s contribution to a particular fund, the iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF, which held 0.4% of the aerospace and defense company’s holdings. Stated.
“They have stock in Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and L3Harris,” she said.
The last company is a defense contractor based in Northampton, not far from the Smith campus.
Mr Hayden-Kern said that although his involvement in these companies was small, Mr Smith’s investments in national defense were funding invasions and genocide.
“I think this has a direct impact on the people of Gaza. It’s literally our money that essentially funds military weapons that are being used against the Palestinian people. The U.S. “I think it’s essentially manufacturing consent to the imperialist structure of Israel as an occupying power, which would not be possible without American investment,” she said.
Simran Babeja, one of the organizers of the town hall, said that when university officials refused to sell the ETF, they called it an indirect investment and “inconsequential.”
“As people of values and morals, we do not believe that investing in genocide is negligible,” she said. “If that amount is so small that it is negligible for the government, why not sell it? Because it is not negligible to the children whose bombs are falling on them in Gaza.”
“We have calculated how many drones and bombs our money can buy. We can see firsthand where our money is being spent and how many people are dying. The sanctity of human life, Funding and resources to protect especially the most marginalized and vulnerable people in the international community cannot be ignored.”
The investment represents about $67,000 of the school’s $5.4 billion endowment, Baveja said.
“The number of people facing military violence is not small.”
Susan Lantz graduated from Smith College many years ago, but she returned to campus Sunday to show her support for the students’ actions.
“I really wanted to hear their thoughts and I was pleased to hear their conviction and clarity of thought and determination to make as much of an impact as possible on the sale of the university.” she said. “They want to end the war in Gaza, but they can’t end the war themselves. But they control the university money. That comes through loud and clear, and they can’t end it themselves. I’m very proud.”
Rosalyn Veal said the crackdown on American college campuses over Israeli military action in Gaza is concerning to her, but she feels she needs to join the divestment movement. She noted that about 100 students were arrested at Columbia University and 50 students at Barnard College were suspended.
“I think it’s really important that we have the opportunity to come together as students, faculty, staff and community members and talk about divestment and get on the same page,” she said.
