Div School Students Petition For Divestment

Divinity School students yesterday presented a petition with 184 signatures to President Bok and the Committee on Shareholder Responsibility (CCSR) calling for Harvard to divest of its holdings from companies doing business in South Africa.

The petition drew the backing of five Divinity School faculty members, 141 students--30 percent of the school's enrollment--as well as other Harvard affiliates, said first year Divinity School student Henry C. Simoni, the organizer of the four-day petition drive.

Simoni said he did not talk with Bok, and gave the petition to a secretary in the President's office.

Student groups at the Kennedy School of Government and the Graduate School of Government reportedly plan to follow the Divinity School's lead and submit similar petitions to Bok and the Harvard Corporation with the next few weeks.

"The Divinity School should have some statement against apartheid," said Simoni. "The Divinity School should be making a statement about human rights. Everybody should be treated fairly. That's what religion is all about."