Vote for Divestment
Students have the chance to vote on divestment this year. Every vote matters.
Vote at asuc.org/elections — April 13–15Frequently asked questions
Context: divestment at UC
Divestment is not new.
UC has divested from apartheid South Africa (1986), genocide in Sudan (2006), and the fossil fuel industry (2020).
UC Berkeley currently claims that divestment from military weapons would be too controversial with the campus community.
They have 23 holdings related to weapons manufacturing, but the exact companies are not made public.
Vote — asuc.org/elections April 13–15
What does this ballot measure propose?
- Disclosure: making public all investments into surveillance and military weapons technology
- Divestment: pursuing avenues like shareholder rights to affect change to harmful behavior, then selling all holdings if company does not change
The result of the vote will be presented to Chancellor Lyons, who sits on the board of the endowment management company.
Vote — asuc.org/elections April 13–15
Why a divestment ballot measure?
There is a precedent for holding a student body vote for divestment.
After Berkeley students passed a referendum supporting fossil fuel divestment, the Foundation began materially divesting our endowment.
Today, the Foundation's guidelines for investing require them to consider sustainability concerns like climate change, water, energy, and environmental toxins.
Vote — asuc.org/elections April 13–15
Will divestment decrease funding for teaching and research?
The endowment only supplies 2% of the campus operating budget! Historically, divestment has not caused diminished returns at universities.
Index funds that exclude weapons and fossil fuels often perform just as well, and they align with UC Berkeley's intention to be a leader in AI ethics and clean energy.
Vote — asuc.org/elections April 13–15
Why is divestment relevant now?
The industry of war, apartheid, and genocide continues to kill, injure, and displace people in our local communities and around the world.
On April 8th, Israel bombed Lebanon 100 times in ten minutes, killing over 300 people.
On April 7th, by the time Trump threatened to "destroy a civilization," the US and Israel had already bombed universities, religious buildings, bridges, and railways in Iran.
Since 2025, ICE has been detaining and terrorizing our communities with newly-purchased technology like face recognition apps, warrantless location surveillance, drones that detect people miles away, and spyware that hacks phones remotely.
Universities like UC Berkeley have the power to legitimize and shape the future of the industries they claim to be leading.
Divesting from fossil fuels but not mass surveillance and military technology is not neutral.
One day, everyone will have always been against this.
Vote — asuc.org/elections April 13–15