These are the same BDS supporting students who fought to keep the press away from this meeting.

Kendal Mitchell and Joseph Vescera of the Daily Bruin reported.

USAC passes divestment resolution with 8-2-2 vote

The undergraduate student government voted 8-2-2 at its meeting Tuesday night to pass a resolution that calls for the University of California to divest from American companies that some say profit from human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

About 250 students attended the Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom, which lasted for more than four hours.

All public comments came from student supporters of the resolution and lasted about 90 minutes. When last year’s council voted on a similar resolution in February, public comment was heated and lasted more than nine hours during the nearly 12-hour-long meeting.

Financial Supports Commissioner Heather Rosen and Academic Affairs Commissioner Allyson Bach voted against the resolution. Campus Events Commissioner Greg Kalfayan and Community Service Commissioner Cynthia Wong abstained from voting, saying they did not want to alienate students from their commissions.

Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed, USAC transfer student representative, was vocal about her support for the resolution throughout the night, saying she thought voting for the resolution was the morally right thing to do.

Some other councilmembers expressed concerns about the resolution being divisive. Rosen said she thinks the resolution unfairly targets Israel, and had asked for council to amend it to broaden it to all companies involved in human rights violations.

After the resolution was put to a vote, USAC President Avinoam Baral voiced his frustrations about not being able to voice his opinions against the resolution, especially because he is the only Israeli-born student sitting on council. USAC presidents typically do not vote unless there is a tie, and do not participate in discussions.

“I’m sorry I could not represent you how you wanted me to represent you,” Baral said to the Jewish and pro-Israel communities, in reference to the resolution.