• UCOSA passed a resolution urging the UCO Foundation to divest from companies involved in human rights violations
• The vote followed a petition from Students for Justice in Palestine that gathered more than 400 student signatures
• The measure calls for a socially responsible investment policy and will ultimately be decided by the UCO Board of Trustees

The UCOSA Senate passed a resolution last Monday urging the University of Central Oklahoma Foundation to establish an ethical investing policy and divest from companies involved in human rights violations. The vote followed a petition from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) supporting divestment that gathered more than 400 student signatures.

The resolution focuses on weapons manufacturers that supply arms to Israel. Supporters of the resolution argue those weapons have aided Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

A UN Human Rights Council commission reported that Israeli actions in Gaza may constitute acts of genocide under the Genocide Convention.

SJP President Soha Jawaid said the group estimates the UCO Foundation invests roughly $300,000 per month in weapons manufacturers and surveillance companies.

The resolution highlights three of these manufacturers, whose products have been used by Israel in Palestine. These companies include Boeing, L3 Harris, and Elbit Systems. According to SJP, UCO invests more than $200,000 per year in these companies alone. 

Boeing, the world’s third-largest weapons manufacturer, provides missiles and arms to Israel that human rights groups say have been used to commit war crimes in Palestine and many other countries. Boeing received $15,701 from the UCO Foundation in February 2025 and maintains a relationship with UCO. 

L3 Harris provides cell-site simulators (better known as Stingrays), devices that mask themselves as cell towers that track and log data from phones. Politico reported that the U.S. government concluded that Israel was likely behind the placement of these devices around the White House. The UCO Foundation invested $5,635 in L3 Harris in February 2025.  

Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer. The UCO Foundation invested $1,267 in the company in February 2025.  

The resolution urges the foundation to adopt a socially responsible investment policy. 

As stated in the resolution, “A socially responsible investment policy is a commitment to invest only in companies that align with ethical standards or to implement ethical screening before making investment decisions, as outlined by the American Friends Service Committee.” 

SJP has been leading the push for university divestment. The group’s research committee wrote the resolution passed by UCOSA. “It was a lot of consolidating the research we already had,” Jawaid said. “We actually did the endowment research over the summer, so writing the resolution meant finding sources for the companies and the acts involved and putting all of that together.”

She said the group believes students should have a say in how the university’s endowment is invested. “The UCO Foundation is a private nonprofit, so technically they’re not required by law to disclose their investments,” Jawaid explained. “But the money they make is for students. These investments revolve around us, so they should be invested according to our values as students.”

In an Instagram post March 9, the group wrote “to truly be ‘where the movement is’ we must be able to stand against genocide and the blood money that comes from it. This resolution is a huge milestone for our fight against the genocide in Palestine.”

SJP’s next step in pursuing divestment is to meet with the Board of Trustees next month. Jawaid said the group is focused on “starting a relationship with them so that they understand that we’re coming from a diplomatic space.”