Staring Down the Devil at the University of Michigan
When I first set foot on the University of Michigan campus four years ago, I felt like I was prepared for anything. I was determined to challenge myself and my beliefs. I was determined to learn from incredible professors and students. I was determined to make a difference. What I was not prepared for was a campus community polarized and paralyzed by a global political issue that had little to do with life at Ann Arbor.
I was not prepared to be told that, if I cared about human rights, I could not support Israel. I was not prepared to be told that my community was racist. I was not prepared to see my fellow students attacked with anti-Semitic slurs. And I was most definitely not prepared to be told that “anyone wearing the Israeli army uniform is a Ku Klux Klansman who does not deserve any place at any table in polite society because they are racist killers trying to break the back of Palestine, and they have succeeded.”
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On March 18, SAFE brought a resolution before the CSG demanding that the university divest from Caterpillar, General Electric, Heidelberg Cement, United Technologies, and “all other companies that explicitly profit from and facilitate the Israeli occupation and siege of Palestinian land in violation of international law and human rights.” The resolution was part of a campaign that quickly spread across campus. This was similar to a proposed resolution that was introduced in 2005, and was defeated by a 11-25 vote.
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After almost six hours of debate, CSG representatives voted to vote by secret ballot because they were afraid of possible threats to their personal safety. When the final votes were tallied, hate lost. Nine representatives voted Yes, 25 voted No, and four abstained. The effort to pass BDS — to bully the CSG to pass BDS — failed. Spectacularly.
http://www.thetower.org/article/staring-down-the-devil-at-the-university-of-michigan/
