Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing recommends divestment from the private prison industry
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DIVESTMENT | ASCRI has unanimously voted to recommend divestment from the private prison industry.
Updated: 04/02 at 9:56 p.m.
Columbia's Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing recommends that the board of trustees divest any direct stock ownership interests from the private prison industry, the committee said in a statement released on Wednesday.
ACSRI said that their decision was based on “community sentiment, the merits, and the possibilities for shareholder engagement.”
"We would like to thank the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing for their hard work and thoughtful recommendation on this issue. This is precisely the kind of inclusive, deliberative process that contributes so much to how we as a university community address complex questions facing our institution and our society. We look forward to giving careful consideration to the committee's recommendation as we develop our official position on private prison divestment," University President Lee Bollinger and the Board of Trustees said in a statement.
The committee’s recommendation cited constitutional problems with private prisons as one of the main reasons for divestment.
“Private prisons have been the subject of litigation alleging violations of constitutionally required minimal levels of maintenance, welfare, and medical conditions,” the statement read.
Columbia Prison Divest core member Gabriela Pelsinger, CC ’15, said she was excited by the decision, because it demonstrates how grassroots campaigns can hold institutions accountable.
“This call is about recognizing the University practices, which include its investment practices, and how they have a direct impact on the students and the communities the students come from,” she said.
Since winter 2014, CPD—a committee of Students Against Mass Incarceration—has been campaigning on campus to raise awareness Columbia's investment in the private prison industry, particularly in the Corrections Corporation of America and G4S.
“These [private prison] companies make their profit by incarcerating as many people for as long a time as possible,” Pelsinger said.
The group has worked to build grassroots support for divestment and has met with administrators including University President Lee Bollinger to advocate for their position. CPD also presented the proposals to ACSRI that led to today's announcement.
"We've been working with ACSRI for about a year, so although long overdue, this decision is great news to us,” said Dunni Oduyemi, CC ’16, a core member of CPD, and former editor in chief of The Eye. “We hope that President Bollinger is responsive to the support that we've gotten from the SAC and ACSRI, as well as the overwhelming student support that investing in private prisons is fundamentally unjust.”
ACSRI’s announcement comes days after the University Senate’s Student Affairs Committee voted 23 to zero to support private prison divestment.
University Senator Marc Heinrich, CC ’16 and a member of SAC, said he was glad that ACSRI has voted to support Columbia’s divestment from private prisons.
“This is an important issue that Columbia Prison Divest has worked on for the past year, and I’m glad that SAC had a role in making this happen,” Heinrich said.
While all ACSRI members agreed on the content of the resolution itself, an addendum to the resolution said that some committee members did not want their decision to mean that “proponents of the divestment resolution would undertake additional efforts towards improving conditions and outcomes in private prisons and public prisons.”
Additionally, the addendum noted that some ACSRI members had concerns about the racial makeup of inmates in private prisons.
The resolution also included a footnote saying that an independent manager disposed of the University’s holdings in CCA—one of the private prison companies that has been mentioned most often by CPD—in February 2015, although Columbia may own shares in other firms.
CPD announced plans on March 30 to pack today’s University Senate meeting to demonstrate student support for prison divestment.
“An educational institution that claims concern for the future, for its students, and that prides itself as a global leader, should not profit from racist and classist systems of incarceration and detention,” CPD said in a release following the announcement from SAC.
After ACSRI’s recommendation, the University’s board of trustees will make the final decision regarding divestment from the private prison industry.
Pelsinger said she hopes to see trustees act upon the recommendation as soon as possible.
news@columbiaspectator.com | @ColumbiaSpec
Correction: An earlier version of this story misquoted Gabriela Pelsinger. Spectator regrets the error.
Columbia's Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing recommends that the board of trustees divest any direct stock ownership interests from the private prison industry, the committee said in a statement released on Wednesday.
ACSRI said that their decision was based on “community sentiment, the merits, and the possibilities for shareholder engagement.”
"We would like to thank the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing for their hard work and thoughtful recommendation on this issue. This is precisely the kind of inclusive, deliberative process that contributes so much to how we as a university community address complex questions facing our institution and our society. We look forward to giving careful consideration to the committee's recommendation as we develop our official position on private prison divestment," University President Lee Bollinger and the Board of Trustees said in a statement.
The committee’s recommendation cited constitutional problems with private prisons as one of the main reasons for divestment.
“Private prisons have been the subject of litigation alleging violations of constitutionally required minimal levels of maintenance, welfare, and medical conditions,” the statement read.
Columbia Prison Divest core member Gabriela Pelsinger, CC ’15, said she was excited by the decision, because it demonstrates how grassroots campaigns can hold institutions accountable.
“This call is about recognizing the University practices, which include its investment practices, and how they have a direct impact on the students and the communities the students come from,” she said.
Since winter 2014, CPD—a committee of Students Against Mass Incarceration—has been campaigning on campus to raise awareness Columbia's investment in the private prison industry, particularly in the Corrections Corporation of America and G4S.
“These [private prison] companies make their profit by incarcerating as many people for as long a time as possible,” Pelsinger said.
The group has worked to build grassroots support for divestment and has met with administrators including University President Lee Bollinger to advocate for their position. CPD also presented the proposals to ACSRI that led to today's announcement.
"We've been working with ACSRI for about a year, so although long overdue, this decision is great news to us,” said Dunni Oduyemi, CC ’16, a core member of CPD, and former editor in chief of The Eye. “We hope that President Bollinger is responsive to the support that we've gotten from the SAC and ACSRI, as well as the overwhelming student support that investing in private prisons is fundamentally unjust.”
ACSRI’s announcement comes days after the University Senate’s Student Affairs Committee voted 23 to zero to support private prison divestment.
University Senator Marc Heinrich, CC ’16 and a member of SAC, said he was glad that ACSRI has voted to support Columbia’s divestment from private prisons.
“This is an important issue that Columbia Prison Divest has worked on for the past year, and I’m glad that SAC had a role in making this happen,” Heinrich said.
While all ACSRI members agreed on the content of the resolution itself, an addendum to the resolution said that some committee members did not want their decision to mean that “proponents of the divestment resolution would undertake additional efforts towards improving conditions and outcomes in private prisons and public prisons.”
Additionally, the addendum noted that some ACSRI members had concerns about the racial makeup of inmates in private prisons.
The resolution also included a footnote saying that an independent manager disposed of the University’s holdings in CCA—one of the private prison companies that has been mentioned most often by CPD—in February 2015, although Columbia may own shares in other firms.
CPD announced plans on March 30 to pack today’s University Senate meeting to demonstrate student support for prison divestment.
“An educational institution that claims concern for the future, for its students, and that prides itself as a global leader, should not profit from racist and classist systems of incarceration and detention,” CPD said in a release following the announcement from SAC.
After ACSRI’s recommendation, the University’s board of trustees will make the final decision regarding divestment from the private prison industry.
Pelsinger said she hopes to see trustees act upon the recommendation as soon as possible.
news@columbiaspectator.com | @ColumbiaSpec
Correction: An earlier version of this story misquoted Gabriela Pelsinger. Spectator regrets the error.
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