The president of the University of British Columbia says his endowment fund does not directly own any stocks that are the subject of divestment demands from pro-Palestinian protesters who have set up camp on the Vancouver campus.
Benoit-Antoine Bacon says the targeted companies are instead part of “funds pooled and managed by external investment managers,” representing 0.28 percent of the endowment fund that UBC says is worth about 2,800 millions of dollars.
He says in a message posted online that the university would welcome a “respectful and robust discussion” with its students about investments.
Bacon says the encampment that began at UBC’s MacInnes Field on May 29 now involves about 100 people and 75 tents.
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It says UBC values peaceful protests, but that anyone expressing opinions about the “violence unfolding in Israel and Palestine” should be “exceptionally careful” when expressing their thoughts.
The UBC protests are part of a movement that has shaken academic campuses across the United States and Canada, and some, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, have called for an end to the camps.
Protesters say they want UBC to divest from Israeli companies they say are complicit in the “oppression and genocide” of Palestinians. They also want an academic boycott of Israeli universities and other institutions.
Bacon says UBC is “actively monitoring the situation” at MacInnes Field and “prioritizing the safety of all members and visitors to our community.”
“It is absolutely essential that the university remains a place of reasoned debate where conflicting views can peacefully coexist. Our academic and social mission depends on it,” he says.
Bacon adds that the university’s expectations of protesters have been made “clear.”
“I want to emphasize again that protest actions must be carried out with respect for others and within the confines of UBC policy and law, and any action that contravenes this will be taken very seriously,” he said.
The message instructs personnel managers to print it and display it in a common work area.
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