Across the California State University system, thousands of students across the 23-campus system have participated in protests in support of Palestinian people, and in opposition to the Israeli government and the war in Gaza.

Some demonstrations have remained peaceful; at Sacramento State and Sonoma State, campus operations have not been disrupted by the occupation. At San Francisco State, students set up more than 30 tents in front of the student center, and it too has remained relatively quiet.

The week-long occupation at Cal Poly Humboldt between April 22 and April 29, however, was notably more intense, with students barricading themselves in a campus administrative building. In response, the university sent police in to forcefully remove them and 31 students, community members, and faculty were arrested.

Student organizers across the CSU system have taken different approaches to protests and occupations, but of those who have made demands, theirs are nearly identical: they all want university administrators to disclose any financial ties to Israel or Israeli companies and, if such financial ties exist, that the university divest from them.

How has CSU responded to protester demands?

On April 30, the CSU Office of the Chancellor said in a statement that it “does not intend to alter existing investment policies related to Israel or the Israel-Hamas conflict.”

“While the CSU affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints,” the statement read, “a divestment of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.”

CSU’s investments are centrally managed on behalf of the system. As of March 31 it had an $8.3 billion portfolio. Money generated by those investments have been used to pay for building maintenance and renovations on campus.

That total does not include money the system receives from the state or is held by separate groups associated with individual campuses.

While the CSU system at large has no plans to divest, those auxiliary groups, such as the Cal Poly Humboldt Foundation and the Sonoma State University Foundation, could consider their own divestments.

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