The Undergraduate Student Government’s recent divestment resolution was not enacted after Former President Jacob Chang did not sign the legislation before his and the 54th General Assembly’s term ended. Credit: Jessica Langer | Campus LTV Producer
The Undergraduate Student Government’s recent divestment resolution will not be enacted since former President Jacob Chang did not sign it before his administration’s term ended Tuesday.
When USG’s General Assembly passes a resolution, the president has a week to act on it before it is automatically enacted. However, the inauguration of the new USG administration occurred before that period was up, so the 54th General Assembly’s resolutions expired and the divestment resolution will not move forward, former USG Vice President Anna Valerius said.
Valerius said Chang’s immigration attorney advised him not to sign the legislation because of his immigration status as an international student, citing potential complications that might arise with his from the resolution.
“While USG hopes to support student initiative to our best ability, we are also prioritizing the safety of our members,” Valerius, a fourth-year in political science, said in a statement.
According to the Office of Marketing and Communications, the university will not consider the resolution because it represents the opinion of the 54th General Assembly and an outgoing administration, not USG as a whole. As a result, it “does not meet the threshold for consideration outlined in the university’s investment policy.”
According to the USG Constitution, the president has one “academic week” after legislation is passed in the General Assembly to sign or veto resolutions. If neither occurs, the legislation is automatically considered enacted. However, since administrations changed Tuesday, this law no longer applied.
Valerius said an academic week represents seven days, per precedent set by past USG operations.
The resolution asked Ohio State to divest from two companies, Caterpillar Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, that it stated contribute to human rights violations against Palestinians. The resolution passed March 30.
The resolution stated Hewlett Packard Enterprise has provided technology used by the Israeli military “which facilitate discrimination against Palestinians, restrict their freedom of movement, and limit their access to education, employment, and medical care.”
The resolution stated Caterpillar Inc. provides engineering tools and bulldozers used to expand settlements in Palestine, construct a separation wall in the West Bank and demolish Palestinian homes and refugee camps.
Ohio State students have mixed reactions to the resolution.
Jewish students and organizations feared the resolution would cause a rise in antisemitism around campus. They also expressed disagreement with the way USG passed the resolution, feeling it silenced students’ voices.
Supporters of divestment said the resolution’s approval was an inspiration to continue to fight against human rights violations against Palestinians.
Khalid Dada, a third-year in public policy analysis and an alternate USG senator who voted for the resolution, said in a statement by not moving forward with the resolution, the university is only benefiting itself and “attempting to throw another battle at us and giving any reason to not support the Palestinian students.”
According to the Office of Marketing and Communications, Ohio State follows all applicable laws regarding investments, “including state laws specifically addressing this issue.”
Sydney Goldberg, a fourth-year in psychology, said opponents of the resolution knew the university would not take action following approval of the bill.
Goldberg said by not allowing an open forum before the vote, the Jewish community was unable to tell the senators that the university would not take boycott, divestment and sanctions action.
“Wednesday, it felt like USG was against the Jewish community because they didn’t even give us a chance to speak,” Goldberg said. “I have a very hard time believing that senators are acting upon the student body when they aren’t even giving the student body a chance to speak.”
Dada said Palestinian students will continue their advocacy for divestment.
“We will not stand for it and we will ensure that we are heard by our university and will continue to champion the Palestinian cause at Ohio State,” Dada said.
