Carleton and South Africa
In the mid-1980s, Carleton University was home to a potent anti-South African apartheid student movement, led by the Carleton Anti-Apartheid Action Group, and heavily supported by the Ontario Public Research Interest Group (OPIRG). The demands laid out by CAAAG were for the university's full divestment from South Africa for the endowment fund and other short term investments. For a long time, the administration resisted implementing a full divestment, opting instead to subscribe to the Canadian government's 1977 Code of Conduct, which did not fundamentally challenge the legitimacy of the system of apartheid. Students were disappointed by the high administration's unwilingness to take a moral stand on South African apartheid through the University's business practices, but they continued fighting and eventually managed to convince the President, W.E. Beckel, that divestment from South Africa was desirable. Beckel was not always supportive of divestment, but, in his submission to the Board of Governors committee examining the issue, he admitted that students were right.
The students are asking the Board to adopt a new policy of at least no investment in any company, Canadian or otherwise, operating directly or indirectly in the Republic of South Africa and Namibia. Any existing investments would be divested and no subsequent investment would occur. I believe their arguments have merit. I don't yet see overwhelming evidence for them. But I don't see any such evidence for the Government of Canada's or the Sullivan signatories' position either. I simply believe that if we are to be influenced by morals or social responsibility it is as good or better to attempt to eliminate apartheid by no investment as by partial investment based on adherence to a code of conduct. Let's get out of South Africa as much as we can and stay out, on moral and financial grounds. --- (Carleton archives: W. E. Beckel, “Submission by the President to the Board of Governor's Re: Investment Policy,” undated, Box: 213, Fonds: Office of the President, File: S. Africa Divestment.)
The campaign for divestment was won in March 1987, when the Board of Governors announced, with the strong endorsement of President W.E. Beckel, that Carleton would fully divest from South Africa. This would include funds such as the university's endowment, but also the university's contracting policy for good and services. From then on, South African companies (and South Africa-linked companies) would no longer receive business from the university. President Beckel reiterated his moral stand against apartheid in a memo discussing the new policy on contracting with Vice-President C.G. Watt. An exerpt fo that document follows:
To cease all business dealings with such companies would significantly interfere with the operation of the University. I will, however, be investigating approaches to some form of restriction on the business we do with these companies in the interest of giving the signal approved by the Board of Governors that Carleton University abhores [sic] apartheid and will do all it can to show its position on apartheid within its business practices. --- (Carleton University Memorandum from W. E. Beckel, President, to C. G. Watt, Vice President Administration, “Policy on Carleton University's Business Dealings with South African Companies”, 23 March 1987, Box: Pfund 06, Fonds: Pension Funds, File: S. Africa Correspondence.)
Beckel's moral stand against aparheid is particularly significant becuase the current (as of February 2009) President of Carleton University, Roseann Runte, has refused to take a stand on Israeli apartheid, despite much lobbying by students. Click here to read her refusal to take a stand on the issue.
