Daily Texan - Cornyn Speaks Out Against UT's Sudan Investments
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Daily Texan - Cornyn Speaks Out Against UT's Sudan Investments
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said on campus Monday that the company managing the UT System's investments should divest from Sudan.
Cornyn's speech in the Texas Union's Quadrangle Room was hosted by College Republicans and the White Rose Society, which seeks to remember Holocaust victims and condemn genocide. College Republicans President Brandon Lighton introduced Cornyn by saying he makes sure tax dollars do not fund genocide.
After discussing national security, the economy and health care, Cornyn mentioned the bipartisan divestment bill he cosponsored with Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
During a question-and-answer session, Cornyn said that though he understands that the University of Texas Investment Management Company needs to take financial considerations into account, investing in Sudan sends a bad message to the world. "I do not believe we should sit idly by doing nothing and saying nothing while the genocide continues," Cornyn said. "I wish UTIMCO would consider the message it sends by not choosing to divest."
Bruce Zimmerman, the company's CEO and chief investment officer, stuck by the statement he gave in a letter to UT System Board of Regents Chairman Scott H. Caven on Dec. 20. He said then that social and political considerations should not influence investment decisions because the result could have economic costs that vary from cause to cause. He said he believes the company's financial responsibility to the board does not allow for "social investing."
Zimmerman also said in the letter that the company's investments in Sudan were relatively small. He said $27.6 million - one-tenth of one percent of the company's total portfolio - was invested in Sudan as of October 2007.
White Rose Society co-chair Punam Kaji said that the company should not invest in Sudan because there has been wide-reaching support for divestment. She said the student body wants to divest and that the state and U.S. government have already done so.
"Senator Cornyn taking a stance on this issue makes a statement," Kaji said. "People on all sides of the spectrum care about this. It's stubborn to ignore the request coming from so many people to divest."
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