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New Referendum Asks Brown Undergrads if They Lack Confidence in University's Leadership

Olivia Ebertz/The Public's Radio

Measure comes after vote to not divest the university’s endowment from companies students say perpetuate human rights abuses against Palestinians

Brown University’s Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS) sent out a referendum on Oct. 16 asking students to vote on whether they have faith in the university’s leadership, and whether they believe students should be able to elect student representatives to Brown’s corporate board.

Isaac Slevin, who sits on the UCS, said the referendum came in response to several decisions made by either the Corporation of Brown University or administrators that many students did not believe were reflective of student sentiment.

“Students are constantly pushing for things and constantly advocating for ourselves, and the university does not move,” said Slevin.

Last week the corporation voted not to divest the university’s endowment from companies student activists say facilitate human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories despite student support. A Brown Daily Herald poll taken before the announcement indicated that about 60% of students supported the divestment proposal.

A representative for Brown University did not respond to requests for comment on the new referendum.

This story was reported by The Public's Radio. You can read the entire story here.

Olivia Ebertz comes to The Public’s Radio from WNYC, where she was a producer for Morning Edition. Prior to that, she spent two years reporting for KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, where she wrote a lot about how the warming climate is forcing local Indigenous communities to change their traditional lifeways.

Prior to her career as a journalist, Olivia worked in film. Her documentaries have screened at festivals worldwide.

Olivia likes to pursue stories inspired by questions from community members.
Ella habla español, lei parla italiano, и она говорит по-русски.
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