The students then They presented their proposalIt recommends Brown withdraw from 10 companies, including companies that student activists say provide products or services to Israel’s military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and companies that contribute to the maintenance or expansion of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.

“Both on its own merits and as a member of the Ivy League, Brown occupies a unique position in the educational, cultural, and political landscape of our nation and the world,” the Brown Divest Coalition wrote in the proposal. “We therefore bear a unique responsibility to contribute to global civil society pressure aimed at promoting equitable coexistence among all peoples currently living in historic Palestine. “Achieving such a solution will be a long and difficult road, and the purpose of disinvestment is not to offer a solution but to reduce the harm to the civilian population.”

Brown University Corporation, the school’s highest governing body and financial controllers, voted against The Oct. 8 divestiture proposal states in an Oct. 9 email that the university’s exposure to 10 companies “is too small to be directly responsible for societal harm.” Some protesters say the vote took place “in secret.” ”

“Brown is often portrayed in the media as the school ‘talking to the protesters,'” BDC wrote in a statement. “Don’t be fooled: This is a smokescreen for their relentless campaign of bureaucratic violence last year.”

The 18 October protest, hosted by Brown SJP, was the first major action since the Company voted no to liquidation. Student protesters marched down College Hill, through the Jewelry District, and around Brown Medical School, where Company members met.

Some students chanted “Free Palestine” and “F$&@!” YOU CPAX” while others bang on buckets like drums. As students walked out of the medical school, they shouted at the Company members, raising their middle fingers and fists in the air. Protesters chanted “Shameful!” shouted slogans. Students then formed a blockade along the crosswalk to prevent Brown’s shuttle from transporting Company members. The protesters dispersed after the police warned them that they would be detained.

University spokesman Brian Clark said the school had received reports alleging “threatening, intimidating, harassing and racist actions directed at administrators, staff employees and members of Brown’s board of directors.”

Given the “severity” of these allegations, the university suspended the student organization on October 24, but the students were not suspended. Brown SJP must cease all meetings, events, social media postings, expenditures of funds, or use of the corporate name. The group is also not allowed to organize or participate in formal or informal events as an organization.

Student protesters have been rallying around calls for divestment for the past year, following increased pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses across the country following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Sixty-one Brown students were arrested for trespassing while staging a sit-in at University Hall in 2023 to demand divestment, and 19 students began an eight-day hunger strike during a demonstration during a Corporation meeting in February.

“While Brown’s policies make clear that protest is a necessary and acceptable means of expression on campus, protest may not interfere with the normal functions of the University, involve intimidation or harassment of members of the community, or violate the rights of others,” Clark said. announced that the group was suspended. “We are committed to supporting freedom of expression while respecting the dignity and humanity of others.”

The review is being conducted by an external investigator. If the outcome confirms policy violations, they will be addressed in student conduct cases.

Student activists are furious at the university for blocking the only organization dedicated solely to Palestinians, which they called “a retaliatory, politically motivated ploy to denigrate protesters, fracture the student movement, and diminish its complicity in the destruction of the Palestinian people.” ” According to BDC.

“But we know that the administration’s attempts to suppress the student movement will not work,” BDC said in a statement.

This is a developing story and will be updated. This report uses material from previous Globe articles.