Barnard alumni call on college to reject student divestment referendum

Thousands of Barnard College alumni have called on the New York school to reject a student referendum asking the administration to divest from eight companies doing business with Israel.

The petition was launched Thursday, hours after results were announced, showing nearly two-thirds of the student body voting in favor of the nonbinding ballot. The petition’s some 2,000 alumni signers, as well as two college trustees, say they are “deeply disappointed with the actions of the Barnard Student Government Association (SGA) regarding the recent divestment referendum.”

“By presenting a nuanced and complex issue as one sided and simple, it has biased the student body and failed in its duty to act as a neutral arbiter,” it says.

The petition calls the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel “hateful.”

The student council will vote Monday whether to accept the results of the referendum and formally ask the Barnard Board of Trustees to divest from the companies.