Occidental students are demanding that the adminstration divests from companies that fund Israel’s violence. [Photo: Mohammed Ahmad]
Students initiated the hunger strike in solidarity with over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza currently facing famine and malnutrition. Their action is in response to the administration’s refusal to divest from five prominent companies, including weapons manufacturers, accused of profiting from the genocide of Palestinians.
Ella, a student and member of Oxy Students for Justice in Palestine said, “What I want this hunger strike to spark on campus is more conversations about what is happening in Gaza.”
Tobias Lodish, a student from Jewish Voice for Peace added, “We are here in solidarity with the Palestinian people, and all eyes should be on Gaza. Right now 92% of Gazans face famine-level food insecurity.”
The administration’s response has been utterly violent and dismissive, reflecting a broader pattern of disregard toward its most vulnerable students — who face the threat of kidnappings and visa revocations due to their being vocal toward the genocide of Palestinians.
On Friday, April 25, during President Stritikus’ inauguration, peaceful student protesters were met with violence from campus police and private security, the very people tasked with protecting them. The Los Angeles Police Department was invited onto campus by the dean of students, Vivian Garray Santiago. President Stritikus continued his speech, willfully ignoring and snickering, as students were brutalized just beyond the stage.
Lodish released a statement addressing the violence that took place on campus during Stritikus’ inauguration: “Students tried to enter our president’s inauguration and were brutalized by private security and campus police. Many students have serious injuries and one is being taken to the ER. A student was pushed down the stairs. A private guard called students the N-word. One of the strikers was beaten and pushed to the ground by private police. His glasses are cracked and he has a large bump on his head.”
In the wake of the attacks on students during the president’s inauguration, students have been forced to end their hunger strike. Students at Occidental are horrified by the college’s continued violent response to peaceful protesters and students demanding divestment from genocide.
Lodish said, “We want our demands to be met, we want the school to commit to providing basic protections for those who are most vulnerable, we want the school to act upon its mission statement and its espoused commitment to social justice and to put its money where its mouth is in that regard.”
Hu said, “Occidental is investing in the big five — Lockheed Martin, Elbit, Boeing, Maersk, and Caterpillar.” The reveal of Occidental’s investments in the big five was disclosed by Occidental during Oxy’s encampment in the spring of 2024.
Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Elbit Systems are among the most prominent weapons manufacturers in the world, specializing in military aircraft, weaponry, and advanced surveillance technology. Maersk plays a significant role in the military-industrial supply chain by transporting military equipment to Israel through a major fleet of cargo ships. Caterpillar, though primarily a construction equipment company, has supplied armored bulldozers to the Israeli military, to demolish Palestinian homes and villages.
These investments contain things called “screens” that are listed as categories. Ella said, “The focus is on the Israel screen, the weapons manufacturer screen, and Maersk. Part of why we are targeting Maersk is because only 10% of their profits come from shipping to Israel, so they could easily sustain the company without the 10%.”
Back in June of 2024, after a student encampment at Occidental that lasted 12 days, Oxy Students for Justice in Palestine and Oxy Jewish Voice for Peace provided a divestment proposal to the administration demanding the university divest from the big five. The board dismissed the proposal, claiming Oxy’s divestment would have no significant impact on the targeted companies and that the college has no direct investments.
When asked about the college’s downplaying of its financial investment, Hu said, “All of their investments go through the investments manager Cambridge Associates.”
Since October 2023, students have noticed an increase of LAPD presence on campus. Hu expressed, “In light of the disappearances of students across colleges in the US, we are heavily demanding protections specifically for international students, and that means not expelling students who’ve had their visas revoked, and keeping ICE and LAPD off of our campus.”
With the countless threats of deportation to vulnerable students, there has been a growing awareness of Occidental’s refusal to truly protect its student body from harm. Lodish said, “They have no public commitment to provide any protections to international students or student protesters. The slightest resemblance of commitment to vulnerable students in that regard is that they committed to providing one hour of legal consultation to a student who is facing visa revocation.”
Since the spring of 2024, we have seen a domino effect of universities and schools across the country continuously silencing students protesting for Palestine and demonizing Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, both student collectives advocating for a free Palestine and an end to genocide. Ella said, “The push for these protections is coming from two organizations that were named in the Anti-Defamation League’s lawsuit against Occidental. Oxy is walking on eggshells because they do not want to be accused of antisemitism.”
In April of last year, the Anti-Defamation League filed a lawsuit against Occidental College for allegedly not addressing antisemitism on campus. The lawsuit ended in the fall, with Occidental College settling and accepting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which includes anti-Zionism and any criticism of the state of Israel.
Occidental’s inaction in the face of its students’ demands is not without precedent. The college has a history of investing in genocide and apartheid, as it did not divest from apartheid South Africa until it was legally mandated to do so in 1986, after Congress passed a bill requiring divestment from companies engaged in exploitative labor practices. Students protested the college’s investment in South African apartheid over a 12-year period.
It is especially troubling that an institution that prides itself on social justice is turning a blind eye to the attacks on student protesters, the ongoing threat of deportation against international students, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
By refusing to acknowledge or act on the demands of students calling for immediate divestment, Occidental College has failed to live up to its professed values of social justice, diversity, and equity for all its students.
