Chancellor won’t yet endorse divestment

Chancellor Albert Carnesale declined a student group’s
request for him to endorse the University of California’s
divestment from the Sudanese government, which has been committing
genocide in the Darfur region for more than two years.

The Darfur Action Committee had asked Carnesale to sign a letter
endorsing divestment from Sudan, but at a meeting at UCLA Hillel
Friday night, the chancellor said it would be inappropriate for him
to back the movement because the proposal for divestment is not
finalized.

“The letter would have me endorse a plan I haven’t
seen,” he said. “Personally, I am in favor of
divestment, but I need to know what exactly we are divesting from,
and I want to know how much damage it will cause to the people of
Sudan.”

Carnesale said he wanted to know that the UC’s divestment
from these companies would not hurt the civilians of Sudan by
causing a loss of infrastructure, food and services.

“The objective is not to make the people (of Sudan) hurt,
but to help the people there,” he said.

By endorsing the movement, Carnesale added that he would have
been speaking in favor of divestment on behalf of all of UCLA,
which would be an “outrageous” act as a chancellor.

“It is not right for me to express my political views as a
chancellor,” he said.

The proposal that is currently being developed would, if passed
by the UC Board of Regents, withdraw UC’s investments from
four oil and energy companies, said Baylee DeCastro, a member of
the DAC.

“The welfare of the people (of Sudan) will not be
jeopardized,” she said.

Three weeks ago, the UC Board of Regents Committee on
Investments approved a resolution for the UC Office of the
President to draw up a proposal for divestment from Sudan. The
board plans to review the proposal at its January meeting at UC San
Diego.

Eliciting Carnesale’s support is part of the UC Divestment
Taskforce and the DAC’s effort to gain support from the
community for the UC to withdraw from companies which work with the
Sudanese government.

Members of DAC believed Carnesale’s endorsement for
divestment would be important because he is a prominent figure in
Los Angeles and he could have an effect on the decisions of other
local leaders.

One reason why the students wanted Carnesale to back the
movement was that he could lead other UC chancellors to do so, said
Megan Markoff, a member of DAC.

They also hoped Carnesale would put more pressure behind the
Office of the President to create a strong divestment proposal,
said Adam Sterling, executive member of the UC Divestment
Taskforce.

Though the groups did not receive the result they wanted, they
were satisfied with the reasoning behind Carnesale’s decision
and were pleased with the extent of support the chancellor was able
to show.

“He expressed his indirect support and sympathy for the
cause of divestment,” DeCastro said, adding she believes he
is supportive of student efforts.

The DAC plans to ask from Carnesale a letter of support for
students’ efforts to end the genocide at Sudan, rather than
an endorsement for divestment.

The movement for UC divestment has received support from
students and local leaders. About 3,000 students have signed a
petition for divestment, and state politicians ““ including
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and Congressman Henry Waxman,
D-Los Angeles ““ along with religious leaders and actor Don
Cheadle have backed the movement.

The UC has divested twice in its history, once from South Africa
to protest apartheid and once from tobacco companies. So far
several universities, including Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth,
have divested from Sudan.