Anthony Tinaro ’25

by Anthony Tinaro ’25 on November 7, 2024

On Friday, Oct. 18, students and community members from all over Providence and Rhode Island gathered on the Main Green at Brown University. Carrying signs and chanting, they progressed from campus to the University’s medical school. The protests continue a struggle for divestment which began last October and escalated to a student encampment last semester. The encampment last year raised important questions about Brown University’s endowment portfolio, which is invested in weapons manufacturers like Textron, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, and more. To continue investing in these merchants of death, the student groups say, is tantamount to profiting from an ongoing genocide in Palestine. Multiple referendums last year showed clear support from students, graduate workers, faculty, and alumni for divestment from these companies. Despite the horrifying brutality of the genocide in Palestine, recent declarations by the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice that Israel stands in violation of international law, and Brown University’s own policies on ethical investments, students were asked to wait until October 2024 for the corporation to vote on divestment.

This year on Oct. 8, however, Brown Corporation held a secret meeting one week ahead of the planned vote and vetoed the divestment measure drawn up by advocates. News of the secret veto was delivered to the community by means of a memo sent out the next day, and the resulting outrage was just as abrupt. The days leading up to Friday, Oct. 18 were filled with campus protests. Jewish anti-Zionist students organizing as Jews for Ceasefire Now had erected a Gaza Solidarity Sukkah in religious observance of Sukkot near one of the university gates, amidst rapid-fire rallies and actions against the move by the Brown Corporation. The Rhode Island community of activists and beyond was called upon to disrupt the comfort of Brown Corporation board members who dismiss the voices of their students. 

At 9 a.m., the protesters gathered on the Main Green and announced themselves and their demands. Chanting and singing was conducted by the student protesters. After picketing the faculty club, the solidarity group then marched to the medical school at 222 Richmond Street, where Brown Corporation board members were set to meet. Students confronted board members as they entered and exited the building, even catching three of them eating lunch at a nearby seafood restaurant, peacefully disrupting the proceedings. Police escorted members of the board to a Brown University shuttle bus, surrounded by shouting students after it became clear that their meeting could not proceed. Students then marched back to campus, joining community supporters for a scheduled prayer and for speeches to be given. Activities continued into the evening and a “die-in” was conducted. The movement for divestment at Brown and RISD is expected to continue. On the morning of Oct. 22, Jewish students that were sleeping in the Gaza Solidarity Sukkah were awakened at 4 a.m. by public safety officers who collected their names and threatened them with conduct violations. Students say this is the first Sukkah to face such scrutiny by the authorities and that the early-morning visit represents religious intolerance and the repression of free speech. Last year, there were 61 arrests of protesters involved with the Palestine solidarity and divestment movement.