Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to understand the historic lineage and variety of divestment campaigns at UW-Madison.
Students will be able to understand the reasons and justification for why advocates wanted the UW and the state to divest from certain companies and countries.
Students will be able to understand the different tactics activists used to advance divestment efforts.
Sources and Readings
Recommended Primary Sources:
1968 Black African Students Union on South Africa memo: “Tell me who your friends are?”: Read Memo Here
Identifies a variety of US-based corporations which supported apartheid in South Africa and calls on UW to divest from Chase Manhattan Bank.
Unaffiliated anti-apartheid activists: Read Source Here
Demonstrates against the Board of Regents’ investments in Chase Manhattan Bank for its bankrolling of South African apartheid and demands to reinvest the funds in scholarships for minority students.
Daily Cardinal Article “Coalition urges UW to divest from Pepsico:” Read Article Here
This article highlights calls for boycotts of a variety of companies, particularly Pepsico Inc. and Reebok Intl. Ltd, which they claim were practicing violations of human rights and labor standards.
Daily Cardinal Article “Despite concession, chaos reigns” and Capital Times Article “UW’s Ward agrees to quit sweatshop group:” Read Despite concession Article Here & Read UW’s Ward Article Here
These articles document how Anti-sweatshop demonstrators successfully pressured the Chancellor to adopt labor standards guidelines, but concerns remained about which monitor to choose for ensuring that UW equipment was humanely produced. The first article also details how UWPD, State police, and sheriffs “entered Bascom Hall in full riot gear” to remove protesters, which culminated in the arrest of 54 people.
Daily Cardinal Article “Group urges regents toward ‘responsibility'” & Badger Herald Article “Protesters plan to interrupt Regents:” Read Group urges Article Here & Read Protesters plan Article Here
Protesters demonstrated against the Board of Regents, calling on them to engage in open dialogue and review the investment research that divestment protesters have compiled.
Recommended Reading:
Voorhes, Meg. “The US divestment movement.” In How Sanctions Work: Lessons from South Africa, pp. 129-144. Crawford, Neta C., and Audie Klotz, Eds. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1999. Read Chapter Here
Additional Primary Sources:
Badger Herald Article “In memory of Easy Timor’s victims:” Read Article Here
There are also additional Daily Cardinal articles about divestment efforts found in the “Anti-Apartheid Protests” section of the Nonviolent Protests at UW–Madison Teaching Guide
Additional/Alternative Readings:
Altbach, Philip G., and Robert Cohen. “American student activism: The post-sixties transformation.” The Journal of Higher Education 61, no. 1 (1990): 32-49. Read Article Here
Discussion and Questions
Primary Source Discussion Questions
- How are each of these divestment campaigns similar and different from each other?
- Taken together, what do these sources reveal about the history of divestment movements at UW Madison?
Anti-Apartheid Sources:
- How are these activist groups linking the US to the apartheid regime in South Africa?
- Why do you think these groups were advocating for divestment to address apartheid?
Coalition urges UW to divest from Pepsico. Article:
- What was the Coalition for Socially Responsible Investment (CSRI), and what do you think their main goals were?
- Why was the CSRI demanding the university pull funding from companies like Pepsi and Reebok?
- What potential challenges and obstacles do you think these boycotts could face from university administrators and students?
Sweatshop Protest Articles:
- Why were protesters camped inside Bascom Hall, and why do you think the university called the police to forcibly remove them?
- Why were students skeptical of Ward’s plans to join the Workers’ Rights Consortium?
Board of Regents Articles:
- How did student organizations, such as the Alliance for Democracy and CSRI contend that the university was acting illegally by investing in specific companies?
- Why do you think they planned to protest at the Board of Regents meeting, and why do you think targeting the Regents was a place to advocate for change?
- How did the Regents and UW appear to respond to their demands?
Reading Discussion Questions
- Why were activists using divestment as a strategy to combat apartheid in South Africa?
- Voorhes details three different divestment campaigns, how similar and different were each campaign?
- How impactful were these divestment campaigns? Consider the impact on the US, South Africa, and universities and local/state governments.
Discussion Norms: These are based on Walter Parker, Teaching Democracy: Unity and Diversity in Public Life, 138-9
- Do not raise hands
- Address one another, not the discussion leader
- Invite others into the conversation
- Cite and/or reference the texts to support your texts
- Base response in the reading/sources
- Listen to and build on others’ comments
- Critically Agree and Disagree
For more ideas about structuring discussion and asking good questions, see The Discussion Project
Source Citations
Alicia Hammond, “Despite concession, chaos reigns.” The Daily Cardinal, February 21st, 2000.
Aaron Nathans, “UW’s Ward agrees to quit sweatshop group.” The Capital Times, February 17th, 2000.
Krista Weinfurter, “Coalition urges UW to divest from Pepsico.” The Daily Cardinal, March 5th,1996.
Lisa Kalscheur, “In memory of Easy Timor’s victims.” The Badger Hearld, November 15th, 1999.
Mike Gilliard, “Protesters plan to interrupt Regents.” The Badger Hearld, February 5th, 1997.
Christopher Drosner, “Group urges regents toward ‘responsibility’.” The Daily Cardinal, February 5th, 1997.