OCT 10, 2024 | NEWS | By Olivia Link and Fiona Frankel
The Colorado College Board of Trustees canceled their scheduled meeting with CC student representatives from campus pro-Palestine groups, which was planned to take place in November. John Troubh, chair of the CC investment committee, informed members of CC Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), CC Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) and the CC Liberation Zone (CCLZ) of the cancellation on Oct. 1.
Last spring, the CCLZ staged an encampment on Tava Quad from May 2 through 15. The college proposed a scheduled meeting between three student delegates from SJP, JVP and CCLZ and school leadership on June 12 as a part of the encampment demands. Chair of the Board of Trustees Jeff Keller, Chair of the Investment Committee John Troubh and Chief Finance Officer Lori Seager attended the meeting.
The group made three central agreements during the meeting: the school would make a public acknowledgment of the school’s leadership meeting with student delegates; there would be monthly meetings between Troubh and SJP, JVP and CCLZ delegates; and there would be a guaranteed thirty-minute opportunity to present a divestment proposal to the full Colorado College Board of Trustees in November.
The meeting with the board was reaffirmed by Troubh throughout August in conversations with student representatives.
However, the board reneged their promise on Oct. 1, after nearly four months of student collaboration, preparation, and engagement with the Board’s spokesperson. According to Troubh, the Board simply does not have time to meet with student leadership as promised.
Mackenzie Wagner ’25 recalls that he said, “‘We’re on a short leash on that weekend because of this big 150th anniversary.’”
Troubh instead offered a meeting with the investment committee on Oct. 30. However, Wagner says, Troubh warned her that such a conversation would likely be futile.
“I don’t know if your presentation is going to change minds,” she recalls he said.
SJP members plan to speak to the committee on Oct. 30, two days before the 150-year Celebration.
This is not the first time student activists pursuing divestment proposals have faced difficulties contacting college leadership.
In 1978, a group of students formed the Colorado College Community Against Apartheid (CCCAA) after learning the school had investments in South Africa’s apartheid government. CCCAA urged CC to make their investment portfolio available to the public and requested a student and faculty advisory committee formation. The administration dismissed these petitions and failed to join the 155 universities divesting from the South African regime.
Five decades later, student activists are making similar demands.