Campus Divestment Resolutions in the USA

The first BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) resolutions were proposed in student governments in 2005-6, of the four introduced, two passed and two were defeated. Only five other resolutions were proposed in the following five academic years combined and three of those were defeated. The campaign began to take off in 2012-13 with 10 resolutions (six were defeated), followed by 19 in 2013-14 (12 were defeated) and 27 in 2014-15 (20 were defeated). Since that upsurge, the movement has shown signs of petering out.

BDS Resolutions

Results of Campus BDS Resolutions 2022/2023
Results of Campus BDS Resolutions 2013-2021/2022
Results of Campus BDS Resolutions 2005-2012/2013
Notes
Cumulative Results

In the last 17 years (2005-2023):

A total of 157 BDS measures have been considered – 97 were defeated (62%), including those vetoed by student government presidents or repealed.
Those votes were limited to a total of 76 schools, less than 2% of America’s 4,298 four-year colleges. (The California Community College Association is counted as one college, and the UC Student Association, which has no power and represents no individual schools, is excluded, as were five graduate student programs).
A total of 50 schools have approved a BDS resolution in the last 18 years, which represents about 1% of universities (excluding those vetoed).*
A total of 56 schools have rejected BDS (there is some overlap as some of these have adopted BDS in other years) .
A total of 32 schools had two or more votes; 14 schools had three or more, and 8 schools had four (Michigan, Michigan Dearborn, UC Riverside, UCSD, UCSB, Ohio State, UIUC). Schools holding the most votes - 7 (UCSB [defeated every time], Michigan, Michigan-Dearborn, UC Davis).
Only 6 schools (Michigan Dearborn, Northwestern, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and UC Davis) have passed BDS more than once.
Of the 76 schools that voted on BDS, 11 were ranked (at the time of the vote by US News & World Report) in the top 20, and 12 of 18 (67%) resolutions were defeated.
A total of 23 schools in the top 50 entertained BDS initiatives and 40 of 63 were defeated (63%).
In 2019, Brown became the first Ivy League school to pass a divestment resolution.

Even the handful of divestment resolutions that were adopted by students has no authority, and administrators have repeatedly made clear they have no intention of divesting from Israel. In fact, many of the same schools (e.g., UCI) dramatically increased cooperation with Israel after the votes. Overall, more than 98% percent of American campuses have had no divestment votes and have little or no BDS activity.

Results of Campus BDS Resolutions 2022/2023

School	2022-23
Arizona State University
Barnard
Bowdoin College
Brown University
California Community College Student Senate
Cal State Long Beach
Cal State Fullerton	PASSED⁴⁵
Case Western	PASSED
Columbia
Cornell University
De Anza College
DePaul University
Earlham College
Florida Atlantic University (FAU)
Florida State University
George Washington University
Georgetown
Georgia State
Grand Valley State
Harvard University
Louisiana State University
Marquette University
Montclair State
New York University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College²⁴
Oglethorpe University
Pitzer College
Pomona College
Portland State
Princeton University
Rutgers University - Newark
San Diego State
San Francisco State
San Jose State
Santa Clara University
Scripps College
Stanford University
Swarthmore
The Ohio State University
Tufts
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of California, Merced
University of California, Riverside
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Chicago
University of Houston
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Indianapolis
Loyola University, Chicago
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of Michigan
University of Michigan Dearborn
University of Michigan Flint
University of Minnesota
University of New Mexico
University of Oregon
University of South Florida
University of Texas, Austin
University of Texas, Dallas	PASSED⁴⁵
University of Washington
University of Toledo
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Vassar
Wesleyan University

Results of Campus BDS Resolutions 2013/2021-2022

School	2021-22	2020-21	2019-20	2018-19	2017-18	2016-17	2015-16	2014-15	2013-14
Arizona State University		FAILED⁴⁰							FAILED
Barnard					PASSED²⁸
Bowdoin College								FAILED
Brown University				PASSED²⁸
California Community College Student Senate								FAILED
Cal State Long Beach						PASSED	FAILED¹⁹
Case Western				FAILED	FAILED
Columbia		PASSED²⁸		FAILED		FAILED
Cornell University				FAILED					FAILED
De Anza College						PASSED
DePaul University								FAILED	PASSED²
Earlham College								PASSED
Florida Atlantic University (FAU)								FAILED
Florida State University		FAILED
George Washington University					PASSED	FAILED		FAILED
Georgetown						FAILED²¹
Georgia State				FAILED³¹
Grand Valley State							FAILED
Harvard University								FAILED
Louisiana State University	PASSED⁴⁴
Marquette University	PASSED							FAILED³
Montclair State						FAILED
New York University				FAILED³³
Northeastern University					FAILED		FAILED	FAILED
Northwestern University		PASSED					FAILED¹⁹	PASSED
Oberlin College²⁴
Oglethorpe University								PASSED
Pitzer College						FAILED^{22 / 23}
Pomona College		PASSED
Portland State						PASSED	FAILED²⁰
Princeton University	FAILED⁴³							FAILED
Rutgers University - Newark							PASSED	FAILED
San Diego State								FAILED	FAILED
San Francisco State		PASSED
San Jose State							PASSED
Santa Clara University		PASSED
Scripps College						FAILED
Stanford University								PASSED⁴
Swarthmore				PASSED³⁴
The Ohio State University	FAILED⁴¹			FAILED	FAILED²⁶	FAILED	FAILED	FAILED
Tufts						FAILED^{22 / 23}
University of California, Berkeley									PASSED⁵
University of California, Davis		PASSED	FAILED³⁶					FAILED⁶	FAILED
University of California, Irvine		PASSED							PASSED
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)		³⁹						PASSED	FAILED
University of California, Merced							PASSED	FAILED
University of California, Riverside	PASSED				FAILED²⁵	PASSED		FAILED	PASSED⁷
University of California, Santa Barbara		FAILED		FAILED	FAILED²⁹	FAILED		FAILED	FAILED
University of California, San Diego		FAILED	FAILED³⁸						PASSED
University of California, Santa Cruz							PASSED¹²		FAILED
University of Chicago							PASSED
University of Houston	PASSED	FAILED⁴⁰
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	FAILED⁴²	PASSED	FAILED³⁶		FAILED²⁸	FAILED
University of Illinois at Chicago							FAILED¹⁹
University of Indianapolis							PASSED¹⁵
Loyola University, Chicago								PASSED	FAILED⁹
University of Maryland				^FAILED35	FAILED
University of Massachusetts, Amherst							FAILED
University of Michigan					PASSED	FAILED		FAILED	FAILED
University of Michigan Dearborn						PASSED	FAILED¹⁶		PASSED
University of Michigan Flint					PASSED
University of Minnesota					PASSED²⁸		FAILED¹⁷
University of New Mexico								FAILED	FAILED
University of Oregon					FAILED³²
University of South Florida					FAILED²⁷		FAILED¹⁴
University of Texas, Austin								FAILED
University of Washington									FAILED
University of Toledo								FAILED
University of Virginia	FAILED⁴⁶
University of Wisconsin-Madison						PASSED¹⁵
Vassar							PASSED¹³
Wesleyan University						FAILED		FAILED	PASSED

Results of Campus BDS Resolutions 2005-2012/2013

School	2012-13	2011-12	2010-11	2009-10	2008-9	2007-8	2006-7	2005-6
Arizona State		FAILED
Brown University								FAILED¹
Evergreen State College		PASSED
Oberlin College²⁴	PASSED
Stanford University	FAILED
University of California, Berkeley	FAILED			FAILED³⁰
University of California, Davis	PASSED
University of California, Irvine	FAILED³⁷
University of California, Riverside	FAILED⁸
University of California, Santa Barbara	FAILED
University of California, San Diego	PASSED	FAILED	FAILED
University of California, Santa Cruz	FAILED
University of Massachusetts, Amherst					FAILED¹⁰
University of Massachusetts, Boston		PASSED
University of Michigan		FAILED						FAILED¹¹
University of Michigan Dearborn			PASSED				PASSED	PASSED
University of South Florida	FAILED
University of Wisconsin, Plattesville								PASSED

Notes

¹ Brown 2006 - No vote, activist proposal to investment comm that failed.

²2014 Passed, vetoed, passed.

³ 2015 Marquette passed a divestment bill after removing references to Israel.

⁴ 2015 failed then passed.

⁵ 2014 A section of the resolution was later found invalid.

⁶ 2015 passed then failed on technicality, then passed again. Ruled unconstitutional in 2019.

⁷ 2014 failed then passed.

⁸ 2013 passed then revoked.

⁹ 2014 passed then vetoed.

¹⁰ Divestment was tabled but a comm was set up to divest from companies more generally.

¹¹ Michigan Student Senate vote.

¹² Reversed veto of 2014 divestment resolution.

¹³ Passed divestment rejected Hummas boycott.

¹⁴ Won, was vetoed, won again but ruled unconstitutional.

¹⁵ Defeated first time then passed.

¹⁶ Dearborn has had the most votes, 2016 was the first defeat.

¹⁷Defeated twice.

¹⁸2015-2016 Did not count grad student votes supporting BDS at CUNY, Umass, and NYU (which was reversed by UAW).

¹⁹Passed watered own version that wasn’t anti-Israel - counted as victories.

²⁰Tabled.

²¹Investment Committee rejected divestment; it was not a student govt resolution.

²²Vote on the eve of Passover at Tufts on Passover at Pitzer when Jewish students were gone.

²³Administration rescinded.

²⁴Trustees announced they would not divest from Israel in 2015 http://oberlinreview.org/9008/news/board-rejects-student-divestment-proposals/.

²⁵Failed to reach support needed to bring to the floor.

²⁶Resolution passed after anti-Israel boycott language was removed.

²⁷Resolution passed with a number of anti-Israel clauses, but after the call for boycotting Israel was removed.

²⁸Referendum.

²⁹Vote canceled.

³⁰Passed, then vetoed and the veto was sustained.

³¹Not considered because of a possible violation of state anti-boycott law.

³²In 2019, the resolution was deemed unconstitutional.

³³Student government passed a resolution but stripped out mention of Israel before the final vote.

³⁴Student govt rejected divestment and later passed it.

³⁵Failed despite the vote being held during Passover over objections of Jewish students.

³⁶Passed then vetoed by the student government president.

³⁷Repealed by the student senate in 2020.

³⁸BDS removed from a resolution calling for defunding university police.

³⁹In 2021, UCLA passed a broad divestment resolution that was directed at a variety of targets and referred to the 2014 UCLA BDS vote and speciously accused Israel of “Ethnic cleansing.” It is not included here.

⁴⁰Resolution withdrawn.

⁴¹Passed but not signed by the council president.

⁴²Passed but later nullified.

⁴³The student government conceded its handling of the referendum was “unfair and incorrect,” concluding that the elections manager misled students about how the vote would be tallied when he told students that abstentions would count as a part of final vote total before reversing course. Hence, the student government said it would “not make a statement on behalf of the student body in favor or against the referendum,” which called on the university to stop contracting with the construction company Caterpillar because it is a supplier of the Israel Defense Forces. The vote was 44% yes, 40% no, 16% abstained.

⁴⁴Resolution also called for divestment unrelated to Israel.

⁴⁵Vote held the day before Passover.

⁴⁶Withdrawn before vote.

Cumulative Results

	BDS Wins	BDS Losses	Total Votes	% BDS Lost
2022-23	3	0	1	100%
2021-22	4	4	8	50%
2020-21	10	5	14	36%
2019-20	0	3	3	100%
2018-19	2	8	10	80%
2017-18	5	9	14	64%
2016-17	6	12	18	67%
2015-16*	7	11	18	61%
2014-15	7	20	27	74%
2013-14	7	11	18	61%
2012-13	3	7	10	60%
2011-12	2	3	5	60%
2010-11	1	1	2	50%
2009-10	0	1	1	100%
2008-9	0	1	1	100%
2007-8	0	0	0	100%
2006-7	1	0	1	0%
2005-6	2	2	4	50%

Total	60*	98	158**
%	38%	62%
Doesn't count 3 watered-down resolutions that passed. *Virginia listed as defeat but was retracted before vote.

Other Notes:

The list does not include all resolutions that did not come to a vote; for example, in cases where BDS resolutions were withdrawn or removed.

In 2009, under pressure from anti-Israel activists, Hampshire college divested from a mutual fund with Israeli holdings but denied the decision was boycott related

In 2010, Berkeley passed a divestment resolution, which was vetoed by the student government president and that veto was sustained nullifying the resolution.

In 2010, DePaul and Princeton boycotted Sabra Hummus but that was reversed.

In 2015, Western Washington preemptively voted against all boycotts

In 2015, the UC Student Association (UCSA) passed a divestment resolution, but it is not counted as a campus.

#*In 2015-16, four graduate programs voted on divestment: the NYU Graduate Union voted no; graduate students at CUNY, Amherst and the U of Washington voted yes. NYU vote was later reversed by UAW.

Sources: AICE and news sources.