No More Tuition Dollars to Fund Genocide!
We demand Warren Wilson College (WWC) divest from companies supporting Israeli apartheid and human rights violations in Palestine. For over 50 years, Palestinians have been occupied by Israel (Amnesty International, 2017; O'Dell, 2024). The current campaign has killed over 43,000 people, displaced ~1.9 million persons, and left over 340 thousand facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, as of November 5, 2024 (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Occupied Palestinian Territory, 5 Nov. 2024). The ongoing illegal occupation, as stated by the European Union and many other states (European Union, 2021; Amnesty International, 2019), and the genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel are funded by the United States. (Masters & Merrow, 2024; Schwarz, 2023). There is a pertinent need for institutions like WWC to align their investments with ethical values. Divestment campaigns have successfully happened at WWC such as the student-led fossil fuel divestment in 2015 (Intentional Endowments Network, 2020; Warren Wilson College, 2024). That movement made Warren Wilson a leading college in the initiative to disentangle from fossil fuel corporations through which they have received several sustainability awards. 

Currently, WWC BDS operates with limited information about specific companies in which our institution is invested/endowed. As of this moment, we are working to eliminate our endowment exposure with arms manufacturing, which has been reported by Echo journalist Cal Dooley to amount to  ~0.2-0.3% (Dooley 2024). As we gain more information, our goals will likely be incrementally updated. 

Citations:
AJLabs. (2024, April 28). Israel-gaza war in maps and charts: Live Tracker. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker
Chapter 3: Israeli settlements and international law. Amnesty International. (2019, January 30). https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2019/01/chapter-3-israeli-settlements-and-international-law/
Dooley, Cal. “Where Does Our Money Go? Divestment and the WWC Endowment.” The Echo Newspaper, The Echo Newspaper, 6 Nov. 2024, wwcecho.news/news/israel-divestment-af3wf. 
Hope O'Dell. (2024, Aril 4). Israel has occupied the Palestinian Territories since 1967; ICJ to consider whether that’s legal. How long has Israel occupied the Palestinian territories? Is it legal? The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. https://globalaffairs.org/bluemarble/israel-has-occupied-palestinian-territories-1967-un-court-considers-whether-thats-legal 
Dujarric, S. (2024, February 2). Statement attributable to the spokesperson for the secretary-general - on Gaza secretary-general. United Nations. https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2024-02-29/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-for-the-secretary-general-gaza?_gl=1%2Aoam0jh%2A_ga%2AMjAzODE3MjMwMy4xNzE0NTEzNzcz%2A_ga_TK9BQL5X7Z%2AMTcxNDUxMzc3My4xLjAuMTcxNDUxMzc3My4wLjAuMA..%2A_ga_S5EKZKSB78%2AMTcxNDUxMzc3My4xLjEuMTcxNDUxMzc5Mi40MS4wLjA
Intentional Endowment Network. (2020, October). Active Ownership in the Endowment: Warren Wilson College Case Study. https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/intentionalendowments/pages/5746/attachments/original/1602601306/IEN_WWC_Case_Study.pdf?1602601306
European Union. (2021, March 8). Middle east peace process. EEAS. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/middle-east-peace-process_en
Israel’s occupation: 50 years of dispossession. Amnesty International. (2017, June 7). https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/06/israel-occupation-50-years-of-dispossession/ 
Martínez, A., & Batrawy, A. (2024, February 29). The death toll in Gaza hits a grim new milestone. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/02/29/1234762056/the-death-toll-in-gaza-hits-a-grim-new-milestone#:~:text=The%20death%20toll%20in%20Gaza%20hits%20a%20grim%20new%20milestone%20%3A%20NPR&text=Press-,The%20death%20toll%20in%20Gaza%20hits%20a%20grim%20new%20milestone,of%20them%20women%20and%20children. 
Masters, J., & Merrow, W. (2024, April 11). U.S. aid to Israel in four charts. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/article/us-aid-israel-four-charts
Schwarz, J. (2023, December 28). I calculated how much of my money the U.S. sent to kill Palestinians. you can too. The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2023/12/28/israel-us-taxes-gaza-war/#:~:text=The%20total%20aid%20the%20U.S.,passed%20soon%20by%20the%20Senate.)
“Reported Impact Snapshot: Gaza Strip (5 November 2024).” United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Occupied Palestinian Territory, 5 Nov. 2024,
Sustainability - environmental, Economic & Social. Warren Wilson College. (2024, February 16). https://www.warren-wilson.edu/student-life/sustainability/ 
The Associated Press. (2024, April 29). The latest: Israeli airstrikes on rafah kill at least 22 people. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-hamas-latest-04-29-2024-28196afeb6e34c3a287770f71187cc4e#:~:text=Israel’s%20war%20in%20Gaza%20has,of%20them%20children%20and%20women.