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Campus Divestment Resolutions in the USA

(2005 - 2024)

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 were defeated. The campaign began to take off in 2012-13 with ten resolutions (six were defeated), followed by 19 in 2013-14 (12 were defeated) and 27 in 2014-15 (20 were defeated). Following that upsurge, the movement was petering out. It got new momentum in 2023-2024 as protests roiled campuses across the country over the Israeli counteroffensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, massacre and kidnapping of Israelis by Hamas.

BDS Resolutions

Results of Campus BDS Resolutions 2022/2024
Results of Campus BDS Resolutions 2013-2021/2022
Results of Campus BDS Resolutions 2005-2012/2013
Notes
Cumulative Results

Since 2005:

  • A total of 182  BDS measures have been considered, and 104 were defeated (57%), including those vetoed or repealed by student government presidents.
  • Those votes were limited to 85 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 61 schools have approved a BDS resolution, representing about 1% of universities (excluding those vetoed).*
  • A total of 62 schools have rejected BDS (there is some overlap as some of these have adopted BDS in other years).
  • The schools holding the most votes (9) - UCSB [defeated every time], Michigan, and University of Michigan-Dearborn.
  • Only nine schools (University of Michigan Dearborn, Northwestern, UC San Diego, UC Irvine,  UC Riverside, UCLA, and UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and the University of Minnesota) have passed BDS more than once.
  • Of the 85 schools that voted on BDS, 12 were ranked (at the time of the vote by US News & World Report) in the top 20, and 14 of 22 (64%) resolutions were defeated.
  • A total of 24 schools in the top 50 entertained BDS initiatives, and 42 of 70 were defeated (60%).
  • In 2019, Brown became the first Ivy League school to pass a divestment resolution.
  • Resolutions are often adopted by a small number of students who are unrepresentative of the student body. In 2024, for example, the UC Davis student government passed a boycott resolution with only eight votes out of an enrollment of nearly 50,000.

Even the handful of divestment resolutions that students adopted have no authority, and administrators have repeatedly made clear they have no intention of divesting from Israel. Sonoma State was the first university to announce it would divest. The president did so on his own without a vote in response to anti-Israel protests during the war in Gaza. That decision was reversed, however, and the president was removed for “insubordination” and making the statement without “appropriate approvals.”

Many of the same schools (e.g., UC Irvine) dramatically increased cooperation with Israel after the votes. More than 98% of American campuses have had no divestment votes and have little or no BDS activity.

Results of Campus BDS Resolutions 2022/2024

School 2023-24
2022-23
 
 
 
 
 
American University PASSED            
Arizona State University              
Barnard              
Bowdoin College PASSED            
Brown University              
California Community College Student Senate              
Cal State Long Beach              
Cal State Fullerton   PASSED45          
Case Western   PASSED          
Columbia              
Cornell University FAILED            
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              
Loyola Marymount FAILED            
Marquette University              
Montclair State              
New York University              
Northeastern University              
Northwestern University              
Oberlin College24              
Oglethorpe University              
Pitzer College              
Pomona College              
Portland State              
Princeton University              
Rice University FAILED            
Rutgers University-New Brunswick PASSED            
San Diego State              
San Francisco State              
San Jose State              
Santa Clara University              
Scripps College              
Stanford University              
SUNY Binghamton PASSED            
Swarthmore              
The Ohio State University              
Towson University PASSED            
Tufts              
University of Buffalo FAILED47            
University of California, Berkeley PASSED            
University of California, Davis PASSED            
University of California, Irvine              
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) PASSED            
University of California, Merced              
University of California, Riverside PASSED            
University of California, Santa Barbara              
University of California, San Diego PASSED            
University of California, Santa Cruz PASSED            
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 FAILED            
University of Massachusetts, Amherst              
University of Michigan              
University of Michigan Dearborn              
University of Michigan Flint              
University of Minnesota PASSED            
University of New Mexico              
University of North Carolina Charlotte PASSED            
University of Pennsylvania PASSED            
University of Oregon PASSED            
University of South Florida PASSED            
University of Texas, Austin              
University of Texas, Dallas   PASSED45          
University of Toledo              
University of Virginia PASSED            
University of Wisconsin-Madison               
University of Washington PASSED            
Vassar FAILED            
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  
 
 
 
 
FAILED22  / 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  
 
 
 
 
FAILED22  / 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)  
 
 
 
 
 
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  
 
 
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 the 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 the 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.

47Student government president blocked the vote.

Cumulative Results

 
BDS Wins
BDS Losses
Total Votes
% BDS Lost
2023-24 18 6 24 25%
2022-23 3 0 3 0%
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 78* 104 182**  
% 43% 57%    

*Doesn’t count three watered-down resolutions that passed.
**Virginia was listed as a defeat but was retracted before the 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 the student government president vetoed, and that veto was sustained, nullifying the resolution.

In 2010, DePaul and Princeton boycotted Sabra Hummus, but the boycott 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. UAW later reversed NYU’s vote.


Sources: AICE and news sources.
Jaweed Kaleem and Colleen Shalby, “Sonoma State president on leave for ‘insubordination’ after supporting anti-Israel boycott, divestment,” Los Angeles Times, (May 15, 2024).