There’s a certain kind of numbness that overtakes you as you watch every system governing everything you’ve ever known proves over and over again that they are composed of the vilest form of evil. Nearly a year into a genocide actively and gleefully perpetuated by our national leaders, our local leaders have nothing to say. Our university is happy to keep pumping students’ money into companies that perpetuate genocide without divulging it. The miserable status quo we’ve found ourselves in, where millions in Palestine can have their lives ripped away and eradicated so executives at Lockheed Martin can buy another yacht, has been brought on by capitalism. Considering that both of our country’s major parties have decided that wholesale murder for the sake of corporate dollars is good foreign policy, I defy anyone to deny that fact. And for us in the Trinity community, despite many of us claiming not to care about politics and be “apolitical,” we have to reckon with the fact that we are a part of a genocidal reality that is inherently political. The inordinate amount of money we give to Trinity goes to its investment portfolio, leaving us to guess how many thousands or millions of dollars we have directly or indirectly donated to Israeli war crimes.

Any statement denouncing Israeli apartheid, asking for a ceasefire from the university or even a statement from our Student Government Association (SGA) seems out of reach. This silence speaks volumes considering that a recent study suggested Gaza’s death toll could reach 186,000, an astounding 8% of the region’s entire population which doesn’t even account for Israeli atrocities in the West Bank, with one such incident killing a U.S. citizen.

In my previous column about Gaza, I advocated for Trinity University and SGA to publically call for a ceasefire in Gaza. That would still be fantastic, and I think it should happen as soon as possible, but I no longer believe it to be sufficient. I believe the best strategy moving forward is the formation of coalitions among students aimed at Trinity to achieve one particular end: divestment from companies that provide support to the state of Israel and transparency regarding Trinity’s investment portfolio.

There is some precedent for such action. In 2022 a resolution by Eco Allies for Trinity to divest from fossil fuels was adopted by SGA. While that resolution was more or less summarily rejected by the board of trustees, getting through to SGA was a significant achievement, and it’s an achievement that could potentially be capitalized on to even greater ends if we as the student body seize the opportunity.

The adoption of the divestment resolution by SGA shows that our student body has a critical mass of people willing to push for radical change. As such, I believe it’s imperative that we demand transparency regarding where our money is going and divestment from companies that are antithetical to our values, and that student activism should be directed towards that end.

Currently, political engagement is up among the student body due to it being an election year. The Trinity chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America,* a pro-Palestinian organization, is being reformed after years of dormancy. Aside from that, TU Progressives and other similar clubs have been rallying for voter engagement, demonstrating that we have many civic-minded people here. We can capitalize on this, and I believe we have a moral responsibility to do so.

The groundwork has been laid for an impactful and historic political movement to arise here on campus, but it’s up to us to make the moves necessary to change things. We have the right to determine what is done with our money, and we have the power to enforce this right, we simply need to build the means to exercise our power.

We have waited long enough for Trinity to be responsive to our concerns. The push for a ceasefire statement must continue, but we need to combine that with a push for divestment from corporations that value profit over the lives of innocent civilians. There is no middle ground here, as we cannot afford to compromise on human lives. If we want to break the status quo we’ve found ourselves in, it’s time to stop complaining and just go ahead and break it.

*Colin Houston is a member of the Young Democratic Socialists of America and a former outreach chair of TU Progressives.