Wesleyan being a liberal campus, it’s not surprising that divestment has become a major issue amongst its most politically active students. Walking past the investment office, I’m reminded of the student activism calling for the University’s divestment from two corporations that manufacture weapons being used by the United States in Iraq.

Mytheos Holt ’10 and Eugene Wong ’09, among others, have put forward conservative arguments for why the University should not divest, but largely absent from the debate has been a liberal critique of divestment—that is, why liberals should oppose divestment.

The argument is two-fold. First, Wesleyan shouldn’t divest because it encourages behavior on the part of corporations that we ultimately don’t want. And, secondly, divestment damages the University’s primary calling of protecting academic freedom.

The lesson that divestment sends to these corporations is the following: you should not supply weapons to the United States government for practices with which you don’t agree. But this is not a positive message for America. The United States government, because of its democratic character, is an appropriate forum for the expression of dissenting views, but corporations are not.

Indeed, through political action, dissenting views can be articulated through government, such as views opposing the War in Iraq. But the path that divestment seeks to take is to short-circuit the political process, and put in its place overly assertive corporations imposing their will upon the democratically formed United States government.

Divestment is way of encouraging corporations to overrule democratic decisions through their refusal to participate. I accept that corporations’ stopping the War in Iraq seems like a positive outcome, but what about corporations refusing to give support to peacekeeping missions? Or police departments? Or the border patrol? Those are certainly undesirable outcomes, but not impossible ones if a policy of divestment is pursued.

We don’t want private corporations that represent their own interests to impose their will on democratic institutions. Liberals want to give power to individuals and move it away from corporations, but this policy does exactly the opposite. The encouragement of these kinds of strident actions on the part of corporations should be unacceptable, but this policy does just that.

The other reason a liberal should oppose divestment is that it hurts academic freedom by making Wesleyan take an institutional stand in opposition to a legitimate political viewpoint. Universities have a special place in our society, giving minority viewpoints a place to be voiced, no matter what their political persuasion.

I’m sure that many of the leftist groups advocated on this campus could not exist as freely as they do now if it weren’t for the protection of the University. Though I can surmise that this University’s administration, if forced to take a stand, would not side with students advocating for abolition of prisons, it allows such groups to meet in the interest of academic freedom.

Similarly, if the University would choose to take a stand on a political issue such as the future of the War in Iraq, it would be making the University less open to voices supporting the war. But Wesleyan has an institutional interest in supporting the expression of all viewpoints, not just liberal ones.

Instead of pursuing divestment, it’s more appropriate for Wesleyan to assert itself through advocating for issues in higher education, like minority access and the liberal arts, where it could have a sizable impact on the national dialogue. Wesleyan shouldn’t take an official stand on this issue because it makes the University less open to minority viewpoints, when it could be taking stands on issues in higher education, where its voice is more important.

Wesleyan stands as a unique place where different voices can come together to speak out about political issues, and it must continue to serve in that capacity. Liberals should oppose divestment because it creates unacceptable outcomes for America and for Wesleyan, two institutions that liberals should strive to protect.

It is for these reasons that the Wesleyan student body, liberals that we are, should oppose divestment.