Students to Vote on Divestment from Weapons Manufacturers in USG Referendum

The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) approved language for a referendum calling on Princeton to divest from weapons manufacturers, along with language for four other referendums at its meeting Nov. 10. Students will vote on the referendums, as well as for USG positions Nov. 25 through Nov. 27.

The referendums were submitted under the USG’s advisory power, meaning that results from voting are not binding, though if a referendum passes, a position paper will be written and sent to the relevant parties at the University. The USG did not vote on the referendums at the meeting.

In the language of the resolution calling on the Princeton University Investment Co. (Princo) to divest from weapons manufacturers, sponsor Givarra Azhar Abdullah ’27 directs the University to “disclos[e] and dives[t] all direct and indirect holdings in companies involved in weapons development, manufacturing, or trade,” listing Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX (formerly Raytheon), and General Dynamics.

Related coverage

Administration

Princeton Reports 3.9% Endowment Return in 2024

While the proposal does not single out Israel, Abdullah wrote that the International Court of Justice has ruled that “Israel’s war crimes may plausibly amount to genocide, and that Israel must take measures to prevent genocide, while weapons manufacturers allow Israel to continue failing to comply with these international legal rulings.” He also wrote about the impact of weapons on civilians in Sudan during the ongoing civil war, and mentioned that “weapons manufacturers enable the human rights violations and prolonged suffering of civilians in violent conflicts in Kashmir, Syria, Myanmar, Somalia.”

This referendum comes on the heels of the Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest’s (PIAD) proposal submitted to the University’s Resources Committee over the summer, which calls for the University to divest from all companies based in or connected to Israel. PIAD also mentions divestment from weapons companies and stopping on-campus weapons research. The University asked for feedback from the community last month, but there is not a clear timeline on if or when a decision will be announced.

The other four resolutions covered a wide variety of topics. One calls on the University to disclose the exact days that it will conduct dormitory fire inspections so as “to improve student privacy.”

Another, sponsored by Gustavo Blanco-Quiroga ’25, asks that the University “enhance employment standards for undergraduate workers,”  including by raising wages to $18 per hour, as well as providing information to student workers about their rights and protections as workers. The resolution also includes other measures that would ensure that student workers “receive fair scheduling, compensation, and work protections.”

Another referendum under consideration was proposed by Anna Buretta ’27, one of the co-leads of Princeton’s student climate activist group, Sunrise Princeton. Buretta asks that the University reverse its recent policy change that allows faculty members to accept project-specific funding from fossil fuel companies that the University has divested from. The funding is only allowed to fund projects that work towards the “amelioration” of the harms of carbon emissions.

A referendum proposed by Vivian Bui ’26, USG academics chair, asks that the University revise its Pass/D/Fail option to include 100- and 200-level language courses that are taken in addition to the A.B. language requirement. One amendment was made to the proposal’s language before it was approved.

The language of all five referendums was approved unanimously by all USG members present at the time of each vote.