The Spire

Lizzie Swanson ‘28

News Editor

As the anniversary of the October 7th massacre draws near, tensions around the world are on a steady incline. Colleges and universities in the U.S have especially seen a rise in protests and student activism. Here at Holy Cross, our staff and faculty work to provide a safe and purposeful environment for students to flourish in over the course of their 4 years on the hill. By doing so, their proactive transparency about the college’s endowment opens the floor for active and respectful conversations in the few months to follow. 

To recap the college’s previous statements regarding the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, on April 30th of this year, the Faculty Assembly passed the following motion: “Holy Cross should disclose and divest from all companies complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, and in violation of international law.” The Assembly’s wishes for the college to eliminate funding from Pro-Israeli parties was responded to by President of the College, Vincent Rougeau on May 13th. In his message, he outlines the need to facilitate an ongoing dialogue between the board chair and the investment committee chair regarding this motion. Additionally, Rougeau describes the future plans to instigate thoughtful conversations this fall regarding these foreign affairs as well as the College’s financial funding.

On Wednesday, September 18th, the Board of Trustees sent out an email further outlining their decision regarding the Assembly’s motion, as reviewed by the investment committee. In the email, the Board states that Holy Cross is unable to accommodate the Faculty’s Assembly’s motion. It is important to note that this action is in no way a political statement endorsing or advocating for anything other than peace as clearly stated. Following the College’s Statement on Statements, Holy Cross does not issue “institutional declarations on global political events or other matters that are not directly connected to our work as an academic institution.” In this way, a healthy environment between differing parties is cultivated and fostered. Holy Cross strives for academic freedom and curiosity through engaging discussions. The college’s transparency about its inability to grant the Assembly’s request to disclose the specific investment holdings is further established because of the company managers’ option to disclose their underlying holdings. In this way, Holy Cross does not have any direct holdings to disclose. 

This fall, a meeting with members of the investment committee, the speaker of the faculty, and the Finance & Planning Council (which is made up of student representatives, faculty, and staff) will take place to discuss this matter more in depth and to respond to any unanswered questions. As stated in its mission statement, Holy Cross “seeks to build a community marked by freedom, mutual respect, and civility.” In the upcoming weeks and months, thoughtful and empathic conversations will be encouraged in and outside of the classrooms in a general pursuit of peace.

Featured image courtesy of Vox

Web Edited by Zexuan Qu ’28