2005: Divestment at Wesleyan

“Two Years of Protest: Divestment at Wesleyan University, 1988-1990” by Quinn Hechtkopf

From 1978 until 1991, Wesleyan University students protested vigorously against the school’s investment in businesses operating in South Africa. This campaign, known as “divestment”, was part of a nation-wide university campaign to stop universities from investing in the racist Apartheid regime of South Africa. This paper focuses on two years of heated protests, from when William Chace was selected as Wesleyan university’s 14th President in 1988 until the school divested their direct holdings in South Africa two years later in 1990. During those two years, students relentlessly protested against an uncompromising administration until tension on campus precipitated and there was violent action taken against the university and students alike.

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