that’s the part I can’t get over I feel like the media keeps implying that the students are misdirecting their anger toward an unrelated target, but they’re not asking their schools to end a war - just to stop directly making money off it. that is an extremely clear ask and it is not unreasonable

It’s also a tried and true protest approach! These are the same asks that were made of universities during the fight to end South African apartheid, including at Columbia in 1985, where they divested about 6mos after students occupied administration buildings to demand it.

This might be a slightly controversial Take but I feel like the part of the students' demand that's the most unreasonable is just that... they're making it at all? Like, it's not super tenable to have the student body giving instructions to the people managing the endowment, just categorically

Yeah. The students found the one point of leverage against the powerful where they could make the most difference. It’s not ending the war because that’s not in their power to force—disinvestment is a much more modest goal, and nearer to hand.

Have you forgotten who major media serves?

I mean, at ASU, the PSL initially also demanded that the campus police be abolished (or possibly all police--the demand was a little vague), which probably didn't help (I have...Opinions about the PSL), but since then the demands have been all pretty reasonable in terms of divestment.

Almost every college and university around the country is invested in the defense establishment and vice versa. Shameful.

100% So it's extra sickening that this is the response to "please stop profiting off/supporting genocide".

It's such a clear and simple ask that I think people almost need to believe the protests are misdirected because otherwise why aren't colleges just... looking at their investments

I feel like it is always fair game, on any topic, to judge someone by their investment portfolio and their corporate sponsorships, whether it’s the backlash when the Hugo Awards were sponsored by Raytheon or Pride festivals taking money from megacorps who also donate to right wing hate campaigns

I keep coming back to Brown reaching an agreement with the protesters today this is so unnecessary they aren’t asking for the moon