Call to action: send support letters to ASUCSD council members & sign petition

Here is a sample template you can use when sending letters to ASUCSD Council members (emails can be found here)

Dear  Council Member, (try to personalize the name)

Throughout history, American Universities have stood on the vanguard of global human rights advocacy, social justice, and equality. The principles of respect, human rights, and equality for all people regardless of race, gender, and sexuality is an integral part of a university’s role in a society and community. As members of a student government whose overarching goal is to best represent the student body which it was designed to serve, the Associated Students of UCSD (ASUCSD) plays an integral role in facilitating an environment which upholds the principles outlined above.

As members of the student body, we stand in solidarity with these principles and with non-violent means of accomplishing these goals.

We call on you, as members of ASUCSD, to join us in declaring a stance of peace and neutrality by upholding the Resolution to Divest from U.S. Corporations Profiting from Occupation. This resolution is part and parcel of the historic movement for peace and human rights advocacy, particularly in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank, besieged Gaza, and annexed East Jerusalem. We write to you to emphasize the political neutrality of this resolution– it in no way advocates the targeting or blame of a specific person or group in relation to conflict, but rather promotes neutrality through the withdrawal of any one-sided support from corporations involved in perpetuating the conflict. These entities includeGeneral Electric and United Technologies.

As organizations founded upon the ideals of equality and respect, we stand by our duty as global citizens to take part in the first non-violent movement towards conflict resolution and an end to military occupation. By withdrawing financial and moral support from corporations that fund conflict, we stand in solidarity with the ideals of universal human rights and non-violence. We firmly believe that student fees should not be used to fund U.S. corporations which, directly or indirectly, support the continuation of armed conflict.

Historically speaking, where there exists a system of oppression and injustice, there will be resistance. In the historical development of this particular conflict, violent resistance has been the norm. This Resolution is the first non-violent solution to be proposed to the conflict. As an incredibly diverse group of organizations, we support this Resolution because as a neutral document, it does not target a specific person or group, but instead seeks to address an unjust system of governmental policies that perpetuate injustice.

Sincerely,

(Your name, affiliation, university..etc)