To the Editor:
Your recent article on the recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRIP) that the University not reinvest in HEI Hotels and Resorts provides an accurate account of the committee's action. It also quotes Professor Jonathan Macey, chair of a similar committee at Yale, as having stated that, in contrast, the Yale committee had not found "sufficient evidence of violation of our ethical investment norms." It is obvious that the two universities have different standards for what ethical investments are.
ACCRIP's unanimous recommendation was based on long reflection and deliberations over a period of two years by a committee made up of very thoughtful faculty, student, staff and alumni members. Thus, I must qualify Professor Macey's comment that Brown's decision "appears to be based on the existence of complaints and allegations," whereas a similar decision by Yale would have been based on "facts and evidence" as unfortunate at best.
We stand firmly by our recommendation and hope that the Brown Corporation will accept it at its next meeting.
Luiz Valente
ACCRIP chair and associate professor of Portuguese and Brazilian studies
