SAN FRANCISCO – The UC Board of Regents heard public comment from community members calling on the University to divest from companies associated with the Israeli military and to increase wages for nonrepresented UC employees.

The UC Board of Regents held its bimonthly meeting Wednesday to Thursday at UC San Francisco. At the start of each day, students, faculty and community members shared concerns with the state of the UC.

Several speakers called for the UC to divest from weapons manufacturers linked to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

Hesham Jarmakani, a UC Berkeley alumnus, said he believes the University is complicit in the deaths of Palestinians by investing in such companies.

He urged the UC to take a stance similar to its previous action against South African apartheid, in which the Regents voted to divest $3.1 billion from companies doing business with the apartheid government in 1986.

The Israeli military has killed more than 46,000 people in the Gaza Strip as of Jan. 9, according to the Associated Press.

Molly Shepherd, associate director of development at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, added that she found the UC’s investment in companies such as Lockheed Martin and Caterpillar Inc. to be “morally deplorable.”

Cole Salton, a second-year law student at UC Berkeley, also urged the UC to divest, adding that he believes the UC will eventually divest and will wish it had done so earlier.

“It’s antithetical for a higher education public institution to use student tuition and state funds to support genocide and derive investment benefits from human suffering,” said Stephen Cosenza Jr., a UCSF law student.

Other speakers highlighted the need to improve access to basic resources for UC students.

Travis Hayden, a graduate student in the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego, asked the Regents to provide funds and support to students in need of basic resources.

Hayden added that he passes by The Hub Basic Needs Center and the Triton Food Pantry at UCSD every day to see a line of students wrapping around the building, waiting for help.

“What was designed to be an occasional safety net has become a lifeline for far too many,” he said.

Sherry Zhou, a UCLA alumnus, also urged the Regents to expand funding for institutionally backed basic needs programs, citing data that 44% of undergraduate students experience food insecurity and more than 16% face housing insecurity.

Zhou added that during the wildfires near UCLA, many student workers were penalized for evacuating campus, while those who remained received neither hazard pay nor adequate evacuation plans. The Daily Bruin was unable to confirm this claim.

A UCLA spokesperson said the claim is inconsistent with the guidance UCLA provided.

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“The UC must take responsibility for bridging these gaps by investing directly in programs that ensure all students have access to the basic resources that they need to succeed,” she said.

Employees across the UC also expressed concern about compensation and housing for nonrepresented staff members.

Michael McCormack, assistant director of leadership and involvement at UCLA Residential Life and a delegate for the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies, called on the Regents to implement salary increases for nonrepresented staff to ensure equity.

“Fairness and equity in compensation are not just about salaries, but about the value we place on all employees’ contributions to the University,” he said.

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Carmen Lee, an auto equipment officer at UCSF and member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 – which represents patient care, service and skilled craft workers across the UC – said despite qualifying for public housing through her employment, she continues to struggle financially. She added that she believes she continuously sacrifices her health and well-being so that UC chancellors can receive pay raises.

“All we want is to stay afloat – to get on the boat and paddle to shore rather than keeping my head above water and constantly wondering if I’m going to drown,” Lee said.

Naomi Nakamura, a pharmacy technician at UCSF and member of AFSCME 3299, said UC service workers have taken an 8% wage cut over the past five years, while presidents and chancellors have received a 79% average wage increase.

“We’re drowning over here,” she said. “We are not asking for a $7 million home, a yacht or a second home. We’re just asking for one home – a safe and secure home we don’t have to drain our paycheck into.”

At the conclusion of Wednesday’s public comment session, people wearing shirts branded with the logo of AFSCME 3299 stood up and chanted, “Affordable housing now,” and, “Contract now,” for around five minutes. UCPD officers began escorting the protestors out of the room while a recess was called.

Following the conclusion of Thursday’s public comment session and statements from the presidents of the UC Student Association and UC Graduate and Professional Council, attendees from the public comment section also stood and exited the room, chanting, “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.”

On Thursday, community members also urged stronger action against antisemitism on UC campuses.

Alyssa Ziman, a professor in the David Geffen School of Medicine and a member of UCLA’s Jewish Faculty Resilience Group, called on the Regents to draw clearer distinctions between “legitimate criticisms of Israel” and “antisemitic rhetoric.”

Ziman said this antisemitism includes denying Jewish ties to Israel, calling for its destruction and perpetuating false narratives about the country.

Shachar-Lee Yaakobovitz, a UC Davis alumnus, said she did not expect to face antisemitism when choosing to attend a UC she said is committed to “integrity, respectful dialogue and equal access to an education.”

She added that the UC failed to stand up to antisemitism on its campuses in the past year, saying the Regents must ensure that Jewish students receive equitable access to a UC education.

Speakers also continued to call for divestment from weaponry investments tied to Israel.

Claire Baker, a law student at UCSF, said she is concerned about her tuition funding destruction in Gaza. She added that while she believes the UC is supposed to be a safeguard of higher education, it has invested $32 billion in Israel’s warfare “that has left no university in Gaza left standing.”

Flo Chang, a law student at UCSF, also urged the Regents to divest from weaponry investments in “Israel’s war crime.”

“Your continued investment to Israel shows that you are beholden to them rather than the students and community that you are meant to directly serve,” she said.