A small group of students and community members attended Long Beach City College’s first Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 11 to continue their calls on the school to divest funds from companies that they claim are invested in Israel’s war in Gaza.
The campaign kicked off last semester when students protested against LBCC investing funds into companies such as BlackRock.
These organizations are invested in weapons manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin, who sell fighter jets to Israel in their offensive operations in Gaza.
The group, which includes students, alumni and members of the community, are excited to get back in front of the board to push for small changes within LBCC.
“As students return to school we must be aware that many in Gaza do not have that same privilege,” said Anthony, a student protester who attended the meeting.
“Those schools have been reduced to rubble and we must keep that in mind as we attend educational institutions,” Anthony said.
The campaign’s main struggle has been helping students understand the cause and why they are calling for ethical investments.
“It just gets hard sometimes,” said Nana E, a student protester and LBCC alumnus. “People say they can’t participate because they have school and work, we have those things too.”
Student Trustee G Gonzalez arrived at the meeting wearing a Palestinian flag pin and said that he was on the Board to act as a middleman between the students and the Trustees.
“I will do everything in his power to speak to the board members and convince them to divest funds,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez also said that he has one-on-one meetings scheduled with each Trustee to further discuss students’ calls for divestment.
“The job of the student trustee is to be a liaison between the students and the Board.” Gonzalez said, “it’s my job to ensure their voices are heard.”
In his Student Trustee report, Gonzalez addressed the death of Aysenur Eygi, a Turkish American student activist and international volunteer who was shot by Israeli forces on Sept. 6.
“We have to acknowledge what happened. We have to acknowledge that in Gaza there is a genocide,” Gonzalez said to the board. “We have to acknowledge the power we have on the board and we have to do everything we can.”
When talking to the board, Nana compared the events in Gaza to the attacks on 9/11. She asked that the same emotions be felt when discussing her case for the scores of Palestinians killed since Oct. 7.
“It’s unconscionable to just carry on as if nothing happened,” said Nana. “When you see a kid in pieces in front of their parent and you decide to suppress that, I just can’t.”
Student activists took their chance to call out the Board of Trustees and LBCC for what they deem as hypocrisy in the formatting of their meetings and stances taken on the ongoing war in Gaza.
“Rhetoric that has been used to justify mass civilian killings in Iraq, Afghanistan, Central America, and now Palestine,” Nana said to the board. “These oversimplifications are a-historical and are not at the level of critical thinking that higher learning should aspire to.”
Trustee Sunny Zia reinforced that conversations that have been happening around the divestment effort and war in Gaza, citing the Arab Heritage month in April as a step forward in bridging the gap between the institution and students.
“We had the Arab Heritage Month and we supported our Palestinian community and beyond,” Zia said. “I’m the one who championed that month.”
When asked about the school’s investments in companies that aided Israel’s war into Gaza, Zia said that her staff looked into it and found nothing.
LBCC Trustee Herlinda Chico approached the group after the meeting to offer support and advice.
Chico suggested organizing strategies with the group and responded to some tentative demands the activists had.
She offered assistance with establishing a training workshop that could teach the community to look into the college’s finances and where they go.
“It’s all about us paying attention to our values and where we are placing our money and resources.” Chico said.
The group is calling not just for a simple divestment from BlackRock, but an investigation into each company the school pours money into.
“It’s not just about divestment from Israel, it’s about divestment from companies that are killing people,” said Nana. “That’s what this issue means to us. It’s not just about a country, it’s about our community and loved ones.”