By Dan FletcherThe Daily Northwestern
Associated Student Government senators passed a resolution Wednesday calling for the university administration to issue a statement saying it will divest from companies conducting business in Sudan.
The resolution was sponsored in part by the Northwestern University Darfur Action Coalition.
“This is a great opportunity for the student body and the student government to show their support for our plan,” said Alyssa Huff, NUDAC coordinator.
Huff said she wants administrators to publicly pledge that NU has no investments in 27 companies identified by the Sudan Divestment Taskforce as doing business with the Sudanese government. She said a pledge by the university not to invest in these firms would send a strong message.
“This is a chance for Northwestern to take a stand as an institution and say that we won’t support genocide under any means,” said Huff, a Weinberg sophomore.
The resolution comes in response to ongoing violence in Sudan’s Darfur region, a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more.
NU issued a statement Feb. 13 saying administrators would consider further restriction of their investments in the region after a 2005 decision to withdraw assets from four companies identified as doing business in Sudan.
Also during Wednesday’s meeting, Avery Duer, ASG’s treasurer, presented senators with a trimmed budget for next year.
“This is a $3,200 cut from last year, which works out to be nearly 5 percent,” said Duer, a Weinberg junior.
Speaker of the Senate Jonathan Webber said the reductions came in part because of cuts to ASG’s annual retreat.
“We were budgeted $3,500 and used only about $500,” said Webber, a SESP junior. “We returned the other $3,000 back into student funds.”
Webber said the retreat was held on campus this year, unlike in past years. He said this saved money and also gave ASG an opportunity to offer additional training to committee chairs.
In other business, senators unanimously passed a resolution asking university administration to expand wireless coverage on campus.
Senators postponed voting on a resolution supporting a redesign of the WildCARD until next week. The resolution’s authors had to leave the meeting early, and senators decided not to move it up in the agenda.
The resolution asks for ASG’s support for a proposal that would replace the gradient blend with a “landmark” image of Northwestern.
In interviews with The Daily this week, Weinberg sophomore Jason Sandler said a change needs to be made.
“I was dissatisfied with the aesthetic appearance of the WildCARD,” Sandler said. “Because the WildCARD is one of the most recognizable icons, it should be as modern and professional-looking as possible.”
Officials at the WildCARD office said they would consider the idea.
“I am entirely open to any suggestions,” said Arthur Monge, WildCARD office manager. “I will implement whatever is decided.”
In their last meeting of the quarter, senators will hear from University President Henry Bienen and vote on election guidelines for both officers of the Senate and for campus-wide elections this spring.
The Daily’s Paul Takahashi contributed to this report.
Reach Dan Fletcher at [email protected].
