GISA endorses the BDS Movement & signs the Apartheid Free Zone Declaration

Dear students,

After holding an online vote for 24 hours, the Graduate Institute Student Association (GISA) communicates its endorsement of the BDS movement and the Apartheid-Free Zones declaration. Thank you to all who voted. The turnout out was amazing... more than doubling the votes for previous social movements! 411 students participated in the vote (43.6% of all students), 300 (73% of voters) voted in favour of the endorsement of the BDS movement, 72 (17.5% of voters) against; 317 (77.1% of voters) voted in favour of the endorsement of the Apartheid-Free Zones declaration, 57 (13.9% of voters) against. Becoming an Apartheid-Free Zone and supporting the BDS movement, means that GISA is committed to the equal rights of every human being and the creation of spaces of proactive international solidarity, free of racism, discrimination, domination and oppression. Therefore, we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people in face of the occupation of their territories and violation of their human rights. The GISA Board wants to restate the importance of maintaining all conversations and discussions about this vote, and the topic more generally, respectful and empathetic, especially given the strongly sensitive nature of the context in which these movements act and of what they advocate for and fight against. So far, we have witnessed many fruitful discussions within our community and we believe that respecting and embracing our differently situated experiences and knowledge is the best way for all of us to reflect, learn, and enact a stronger and more inclusive student body. Thank you all for voting and, again, good luck with this last month of classes.