Drake Letter

Letter from UC President Drake:*

July 2, 2025

 
CHANCELLORS

 
Dear Colleagues:

 
Upholding the values of freedom of speech and inquiry are core commitments of the University of California. Members of the University community have the right to express their views on matters of public importance. In addition, University policies provide mechanisms for groups such as academic campus units and student governments to take public positions on issues (Regents Policy 4408 https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/governance/policies/4408.html; PACAOS 63.00 https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/2710526/PACAOS-60).

 
University policies also require that financial and business decisions be grounded in sound business practices including competitive bidding (BFB-BUS-43 Purchases of Goods and Services https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3220485/BFB-BUS-43; Supply Chain Management). This principle also applies to student governments, where University policy provides that “any financial and business activity under the control of student governments is operated in accordance with sound business practices and is consistent with legal requirements and University policies and procedures” (PACAOS 67.00). Actions by University entities to implement boycotts of companies based on their association with a particular country would not align with these sound business practices.

 
The right of individuals and groups to express their views on public matters is distinct from the responsibility of University entities to conduct their financial affairs in a manner consistent with University policy and applicable law.[i] 

This letter reaffirms both: the rights of students, faculty, and staff to express their views, and the University’s obligation to ensure that its units do not engage in financial boycotts of companies associated with a particular country.

Sincerely,
Michael V. Drake, MD
President

 
cc: Division Leaders
===

[i]https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-statement-divestment; UC Chancellors Statement on Israeli Academic Boycott (Dec. 2018): 

https://amchainitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/UC-Chancellors-statement-on-Israeli-academic-boycott-Dec-2018.pdf. 

===

*https://ia600402.us.archive.org/9/items/2-final-hjaa-report.-the-soil-beneath-the-encampments/UC-Drake%20letter%20banning%20student%20govt%20boycotts%207-2-2025.pdf.

===

From the Bruin: UC President Michael Drake announced in a Wednesday letter that student governments at all UC campuses are banned from boycotting companies associated with Israel. The letter followed directives from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health that promise to deny grants to organizations with anti-Israel boycotts and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The University has previously expressed opposition to boycotts and divestment from Israel, including in an April 2024 statement released the day after the Palestine solidarity encampment at UCLA – the organizers of which called on the UC to divest from companies with ties to the Israeli military – began...

Kira Stein, the chair of the UCLA Jewish Faculty Resilience Group, said in a statement over text message that official student government boycotts against specific countries are “discriminatory and divisive” and do not promote peace. She added that the University’s decision promotes inclusivity and respectful discourse in an academic setting. “Since UC student governments are funded by student fees and operate with university recognition, it is both reasonable and necessary that they represent all students and refrain from discriminatory practices,” Stein said.

USAC passed a resolution in February 2024 endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. The resolution alleged that Israel is engaged in “apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide,” as well as called on the UC Board of Regents to divest from companies associated with Israeli weapons manufacturing. The council also previously amended its bylaws to freeze the transfer of funds into its endowment until the University divests from companies participating “in the violation of human rights. Both the resolution and the bylaw change were proposed by then-USAC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Alicia Verdugo, who resigned in February amid allegations that their office deliberately avoided hiring Jewish staffers.

USAC President Diego Emilio Bollo declined to comment on Drake’s directive...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2025/07/03/student-governments-across-uc-campuses-banned-from-anti-israel-boycotts.