Students at UC Irvine continued their protest Monday, May 6, calling for the university to divest itself from companies with ties to Israel and weapons manufacturers, with university officials indicating there’s room to move on some demands but not on divestment.

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“What I see in the classroom is lots of students with humane concerns, who don’t necessarily know a lot about Israel or about foreign policy more generally, who want to do good and make the world a little bit better,” UCI sociology professor David Meyer said. “And when an opportunity seems to come up to do that, they jump on it.”

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Divestment demands have been a part of protests in the past, said Edwin Amenta, a UCI professor of sociology and political science. The demand for divestment is similar to one made during successful protests decades ago over South Africa’s apartheid system.

The current protests are in a trickier political climate, Amenta said, because the U.S. government has been a long supporter of Israel. But the ongoing dialogue, “could end up being a positive thing for everyone,” Amenta said.

For the full story, please visit https://www.ocregister.com/2024/05/07/students-say-theyre-firm-on-demands-uci-officials-say-some-less-feasible-but-open-to-talking/.