Buried inside national newspapers, another genocide is occurring
in Africa. Congress has declared the atrocities in Sudan to be
genocide, but as a country we have done everything but stop it.
If every person on this campus were annihilated ten times over,
still more Africans would have been killed in Darfur, Sudan. And
the slaughter continues. In addition to the over 400,000 people
that have been murdered in Sudan, millions have been displaced and
are now susceptible to disease, the elements, malnutrition, and the
rape and assault of raiding militias. Welcome to Darfur,
Bruins.
An African man�s death, an African
woman�s rape or an African
child�s starvation all seem very far from
Westwood. But these are human beings who, like all of us, have
fears, hopes and dreams.
The money we give to the University of California
� the fees and taxes we pay, the retirement plans
we hold, and the donations we make � are invested
in companies that facilitate Sudan�s campaign of
death. How long can we condemn genocide as an abomination while
condoning our academic institution�s investments
in this genocidal regime?
The UC system can safely divest as it has done before. We, as
members of this campus and part of an academic institution, have an
opportunity to take our money out of the hands of the perpetrators
of genocide. The UC should divest from Sudan as it did from South
Africa in response to apartheid.
Student Regent Adam Rosenthal has submitted a proposal for the
President of the UC to present divestment to the UC Board of
Regents. Today, the Committee on Investments for the Regents will
vote on the proposal and decide whether the regents ought to
consider divestment. If the committee does not approve the
proposal, it is unlikely that the board will ever have an
opportunity to consider divestment.
The decision will be made here at UCLA. For all that we cannot
do as individuals, this is something we can do together. We must
come before the regents and convey that we believe in our
convictions against genocide enough to divest.
Since this is a preliminary decision on the path to divestment,
knowing the students and all other members of the university
support divestment can have a major impact on the outcome of the
vote. We must give the regents a chance to join Harvard and
Stanford universities, as well as the states of Illinois, New
Jersey, Vermont and Oregon, in opposing genocide.
An estimated 5,000 people will die this month in Darfur. We can
affect the course of the genocide, but only if we, as members of
the UC community, show our support of divestment today.
There will be a rally in support of divestment from noon to 1
p.m. today in front of Kerckhoff Hall.
Most importantly, we need to demonstrate our commitment to the
people of Darfur by gathering at the James West Alumni Center at 1
p.m. and attending the committee meeting at 1:30 p.m. Even one more
death in Darfur supported by UC money is unacceptable.