Student Association (SA) Senators were unable to vote on an advocacy resolution that would have called for the UB Foundation to divest from “companies complicit in human rights abuses in Palestine” at Wednesday night’s meeting, after SA President Becky Paul-Odionhin withheld the resolution from the meeting’s agenda.
The resolution was proposed by UB’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, and was backed by several senators. SJP executive board member Zanaya Hussain said that unlike in previous weeks, the resolution was submitted on time and formatted properly.
While both Paul-Odionhin and Senate Chair Gavin Krauciunas have the power to set agenda items, Paul-Odionhin took credit for the resolution’s exclusion. She said placing such a resolution before the Senate could endanger SA, citing New York State Executive Order 157, which was signed in 2016 by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo.
That executive order forbids public entities from investing in private companies participating in boycott, divestment or sanctions (BDS) activities toward Israel. The order was cited by two downstate lawmakers who called for Binghamton University’s student government to lose its charter after it passed a similar resolution last week.
“Putting such a resolution that could jeopardize our existence is something I am not willing to do,” Paul-Odiohin said during the meeting.
Official guidelines released by the governor’s office alongside Executive Order 157 suggest advocacy measures, such as those at UB and Binghamton, fall outside the order’s scope.
“The Executive Order applies to business operations and business conduct. Nothing in the Executive Order shall be interpreted as applying to pure speech,” the guidance reads.
SJP members had originally introduced the divestment resolution. One called Paul-Odionhin's decision to block it an "abuse of power."
Hussain said she was disappointed the resolution was barred from a vote, citing over 400 signatures on a petition circulated by SJP in support of the resolution. She said the SA Senate should “take a risk” and pass the resolution on this “matter of life or death.”
Speaking to The Spectrum after the meeting, Hussain called Paul-Odionhin’s decision to block the resolution “an abuse of power.”
“SA is supposed to be a vehicle [so] that students can have our views represented. Why aren’t we allowed to be in conversations that hold our administration and UB Foundation accountable?” Hussain said. “They are the body that represents the students.”
Paul-Odionhin disagreed with Hussain’s assertion.
“We’re not abusing our power,” she said. “We’re protecting the SA.”
Several members of the Jewish Student Union (JSU) attended the meeting to oppose the resolution. JSU president Hudson Hort described the resolution as “inherently political,” and said its passage would alienate Jewish students. He said Israeli students at UB are already uncomfortable discussing their backgrounds on campus.
JSU members Brandon Meyer and Hudson Hort advocated against the passage of a resolution calling on the UB Foundation to divest from Israel.
An SJP-led protest that began three hours before the Senate meeting drew about 50 demonstrators to Founders’ Plaza on UB’s North Campus. The protesters called for greater transparency regarding the UB Foundation’s investments, singling out UB President Satish Tripathi.
In a conversation with Hussain earlier this month, Tripathi encouraged Hussain to focus on calling for divestment but resisted increasing UB Foundation transparency.
“We can discuss here all day, but you’re not getting that, because you have something in mind,” Tripathi can be heard saying in an audio recording obtained by The Spectrum.
Three counter-protesters representing JSU, including Hort, waved Israeli flags and a flag commemorating the Nova music festival, where Hamas militants killed 370 people on Oct. 7, 2023.
Dean of Students Tomás Aguirre said UB supports students’ right to peacefully protest. That commitment comes days after Columbia University authorized the New York Police Department to arrest over 100 protesting students, many of whom that university later suspended.
“Any steps we take are designed to keep you all safe and protect you. Nothing more, nothing less,” Aguirre told The Spectrum. “We’re not policing anybody. We’re just making sure your rights as students are protected.”
Alisha Allison is an assistant news editor and can be reached at alisha.allison@ubspectrum.com
Sarah Owusu is an assistant news editor and can be reached at sarah.owusu@ubspectrum.com
Sol Hauser is the senior news editor and can be reached at sol.hauser@ubspectrum.com
Sarah Owusu is an assistant news editor at The Spectrum. In her free time she enjoys reading, baking, music and talking politics (yes, shockingly). She'll also be her own hairdresser when she needs a change.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
