Pro-divestment activists want student representation in the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body.
The Undergraduate Council of Students will launch a referendum “demanding student seats on the Brown Corporation and expressing a lack of confidence in current leadership,” demonstrator Garrett Brand ’26 said at a Thursday rally held by the Brown Divest Coalition.
The announcement follows a Corporation vote striking down BDC’s proposal for divestment from companies with Israeli military ties earlier this week.
Student protesters gathered at the Van Wickle gates around noon and marched the campus perimeter while chanting against the Corporation’s response to divestment.
Though their divestment proposal was unsuccessful, student activists have declared that their activism is far from over.
“We’re ready to fight like hell to democratize this university and make it actually work for the people who actually enable it to exist,” Brand said.
“This is just the start,” he added. “We will build the university that we want to see, piece by piece, brick by brick. It will not be easy and it will not be quick, but we will win a democratic Brown.”
Protestors also criticized the Corporation for a lack of transparency around the vote, which came earlier in the month than many expected.
“Whether or not members of our community agree with ACURM’s recommendation or the Corporation's decision, both resulted from a process that was deliberate, inclusive, fair and participatory,” University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald.
The Corporation met multiple times over the summer and fall to consider the proposal, Clark explained, holding discussions on past divestment actions, ACURM’s charge and the Corporation’s responsibilities. Clark cited “the comprehensiveness of the ACURM report and process, and the commitment to both sharing ACURM’s report and communicating the decision to the Brown community as soon as possible” as reasons for the Corporation’s special meeting.
“They addressed potential conflicts of interest among Corporation members and determined to hold the vote by secret ballot so that no members felt pressure to conform to a majority view,” he wrote. “The Corporation was fully ready to make this decision at this time and proceeded in doing so.”
“It's important to note that the vote was no more or less transparent than had it been conducted during a regularly scheduled meeting,” Clark added.
The UCS referendum is expected to happen later this month, according to UCS Treasurer Rafi Ash ’26.
Ash said UCS has heard from many students who don’t feel like they have a voice in University policy. The referendum looks “to determine and to formalize that student voice,” he said.
UCS posted their initiatives for the academic year earlier this week, calling for increased student representation on University advisory committees and in the Corporation.
Clark declined to comment on whether the University would consider putting students on the Corporation.
Students expressed their protests will continue throughout the Corporation’s October meeting on campus, which is expected later this month.
“They may have voted early, but they are going to be here and we are going to be here,” said demonstrator Anila Lopez Marks ’26 at the end of the rally.
Ryan Doherty is a section editor covering faculty, higher education and science & research. He is a junior concentrating in chemistry and economics who likes to partially complete crosswords in his free time.
Cate Latimer is a senior staff writer covering faculty and higher education. She is from Portland, OR, and studies English and Urban Studies. In her free time, you can find her playing ultimate frisbee or rewatching episodes of Parks and Rec.
