ASI Senate Vote Calls for Divestment from Turkey

Staff Report

On February 3, the Fresno State Associated Students, Incorporated (ASI) Senate unanimously passed a “Resolution To Urge The Fresno State Foundation to Divest From The Republic of Turkey.” The resolution, which was spearheaded by Armenian Students Organization Vice President and ANCA-WR member Tadeh Issakhanian, calls upon the Fresno State Foundation to take several steps towards divestment of any current or future endowment funds invested in the Republic of Turkey.

The resolution, in many ways, mirrors similar resolutions that were passed at several University of California campuses, including UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine, as part of the Armenian Youth Federation’s “Divest Turkey Initiative.” The idea behind passing a similar resolution at Fresno State came from the Armenian National Committee Central California.

After its introduction to the ASI Senate, the resolution was taken to the ASI Legislative Committee. ASI Vice President of External Affairs Kaitlyn Sims led the effort, along with ASI President Abigail Hudson, ASI Vice President Nicholas Stevens and Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Operations Deborah Adishian-Astone, to identify the Foundation’s investments in the Republic of Turkey and to draft a resolution calling for the divestment of these funds. Astone’s involvement was instrumental in crafting a resolution that reflected the spirit of the “Divest Turkey” initiative while ensuring the feasibility of any calls to action.

Fresno State students and members of the Armenian community attended the numerous public ASI Senate meetings, where the resolution was introduced, discussed, and later voted on.

The attendees spoke to the Senate about the university’s investments in the Turkish government, its perpetuation of genocide denial, and the need for divestment.

During these meetings, Issakhanian expressed his concerns about the contradictory actions of Fresno State remarking, “on the one hand we have a genocide memorial on campus that recognizes the Armenian Genocide, while at the same time we have investments in the country that committed the Genocide and to this day continues their campaign of denial.”

The resolution argues that Fresno State, a public academic institution guided by the principles of academic freedom, contradicts those very principles by investing in a government that engages in academic censorship and criminalizes Armenian Genocide scholarship in Turkey. The resolution also references the acts of Genocide committed by the Republic of Turkey and its continuous campaign of denial.

Although the Fresno State Foundation, which manages Fresno State’s financial activities relating to investments and endowments, has no direct investments in the Republic of Turkey as of September 30, 2015, its endowments contain a total of $430,000 invested in the form of mutual funds in the Republic of Turkey. This represents 0.30% of Fresno States $140 million endowment.

The resolution calls upon the Fresno State Foundation to take the following actions: to take all possible steps towards divesting Foundation funds in the Republic of Turkey; to establish a task force to evaluate and report on the feasibility and financial impact of divesting these funds; to create a policy preventing direct investments by the Foundation into the Republic of Turkey; and to take steps in order to make investment information available to potential donors who may be wary of where their donations are being invested.

The passing of the resolution by the ASI is an important first step towards the goal of getting the Fresno State Foundation to cut all financial ties with the Republic of Turkey. Moreover, it has set a precedent for socially responsible investing for Fresno State.

In addition, this resolution and the efforts of the ASI to address these concerns, once again, highlight the ASI’s commitment to its Armenian students and the local Armenian community.

All groups involved in the resolution will continue to work towards realizing these changes. ASI Vice President Kait Sims stated “I look forward to continuing to work with Vice-President Astone and the rest of the Association on this issue in the coming months.”