On December 4th and 5th 2023, alums from multiple class years submitted updates to their class notes for the Wesleyan University Alumni Magazine. These updates highlighted their support of a petition demanding that Wesleyan divest from companies which profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestine. They were informed that their submissions would not be published due to the political nature of the content. Due to this censorship of their voices, they submitted this op-ed as a testimony and a promise; so long as Wesleyan remains complicit to genocide, ethnic-cleansing and international war crimes against humanity, they will continue to organize like never before. This multigenerational alumni community is deeply invested in the moral and ethical legacy that will follow all beneficiaries of a Wesleyan education if we do not act now.
We, a growing group of alumni, call on Wesleyan University to divest the institution’s endowment from companies that profit from Israel’s violent occupation of Palestine. Michael Roth, the university’s administration, and the Board of Trustees; YOU remain complicit in the ongoing genocide in Palestine and dishonor the true spirit of the Wesleyan ecosystem.
In solidarity with the coalition of students known as WesDivest, 1,500+ alumni spanning six decades echo the demands that the Board of Trustees issue a public pledge to divest all stocks, funds, endowment, and other monetary instruments from companies complicit in human rights abuses in Palestine. There has been a long history of calls for the University to divest its endowment from companies that profit from environmental destruction and morally egregious social conditions. As students, many of us participated in those calls and as alumni we continue to rigorously support these demands with new and refined direct action methods.
This institution has recognized ethical investment and divestment as strategies for social change and a moral imperative, as evidenced by the existence of the Committee for Investor Responsibility, the 2015 Board resolution to “consider environmental, social and governance factors,” and the 2020 commitment to divest from fossil fuels following years of student organizing. Divesting from the companies that are arming Israel’s genocide must be included in this ethic.
The moral imperative is glaring: Wesleyan must cease investments in companies that profit from the 2023 Palestinian genocide and illegal siege of Gaza through the collective punishment of Palestinian people. We are demanding that you model the true independence of mind and generosity of spirit you have sold to us.
As Wesleyan alumni, and more importantly as humans who are deeply changed by the atrocities we have witnessed daily, we will not be silenced or censured while this institution remains complicit in an ongoing genocide while profiting from “diversity.” We would like to make it clear that until WesDivest’s demands are met, we pledge to withhold all donations to Wesleyan University, we refuse to participate in University sponsored events, we will disengage from any type of alumni network that is directly tied to the institution, we will disrupt whenever and wherever possible, and we will organize our fellow graduates to do the same. As you already marketed, us Alumni have a gift for introducing new, eye-opening perspectives into the world. WE know how to translate those ideas into action, and WE will make extraordinary things happen. You can bet on it.
To the incredibly brave Wesleyan Students for Justice in Palestine, who unjustly carry the burden of sleepless nights as you organize each other, may you continue to deepen your relationships and be reminded again that community and solidarity in times of grief are the true cornerstones of your education. Know that it is a tactic of this university to cycle student-activists through a four-year gauntlet—from hopeful frosh to jaded seniors—we remember! And it is daunting, but we see you and we hope this note, our future collaborative actions, and these words from the prophetical Octavia Butler bring to you solace,
“All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change.”
Your impact is felt and you are changing the world. And we will organize like never before to support your efforts.
To Michael Roth, the university’s administration, and the Board of Trustees—with every delay to divest, you are choosing to continue implicating the entire Wesleyan ecosystem as profiteers of violent apartheid, genocide, ethnic-cleansing, and international war crimes against humanity at the least. We will not remain idle as you implicate us through your lack of bravery. We will hold ourselves accountable just as we are you because it is our duty to fight. We will not grow bored and we will not lose focus. Gaza deserves our endurance and so we will persist with strict, coordinated, and innovative organizing efforts until you no longer make us culpable participants to the Palestinian genocide.
We call on our fellow alumni to add their names in support of Wesleyan’s complete financial, political, and moral divestment from violent Apartheid…yet again.
In endless solidarity, Wesleyan Alumni for Justice in Palestine