UC's put off divestment decision

The UC Regents did not take action on a proposal to divest the UC system from all holdings in Sudan. According to the article in the LA Times:

University of California regents on Thursday stopped short of a decision to pull UC money immediately out of investments in Sudan but instructed their fund managers to express the university's concern about firms that have "significant business relationships" in the war-torn African nation.

The regents promised to revisit the issue in March, when they are expected to hear a detailed plan for divestment by a newly appointed task force that will include regents, faculty members and students. They could vote on the issue then.

Dartmouth began to consider divestment from Sudan over a year ago, and now we are one of only four colleges to have effectved such divestment. It's hard to know whether to be pessimistic or optimistic about the movement. We've come a long way, especially in terms of research and organization. But violence in Darfur continues unabated, and the international community has yet to make serious commitment to ending the conflict. I only hope the ongoing divestment movement will help keep pressure on those who have the power to do something about the Darfur conflict.