Step 2: Take Action.
Everyone:
- Call President Roth’s office (860-685-3500) to demand:
- increased student, faculty, and lower-level administrative staff representation in Board meetings, not solely Board retreats.
- that Chairman John B. Frank and Trustee Marc Casper resign. In light of these allegations, Frank should not get to end his term with dignity.
- that Roth share the names of his personal advisory board. We have the right to know who is leading this school.
- that Wesleyan end Presidential nominations to the Board of Trustees.
- that the Board release a full list of endowment investments yearly.
- the creation of a committee of students and faculty to advise the Board on investing in companies that reflect Wesleyan values.
- Tell your stories about current and past power relations at Wes: bit.ly/wearewes
- Have conversations with your community about what you want Wesleyan to be. Build community and power across student, staff, and faculty lines.
- Keep learning, keep fighting, keep making noise, and keep dreaming new systems.
Alumni:
- Use your alumni status to help uplift campus needs.
- Vote in alumni Board elections. Nominate people you think will be good at leading this school, not simply good financial managers.
- Call President Roth’s office to voice your dissatisfaction at the direction of the university (860-685-3500).
- Are you famous? Use your platform to uplift campus organizing!
Donors:
- I plan to donate soon: Did you know you can donate to Wesleyan with stipulations? You can place any restrictions on your money. Most people will designate where they want their money to go (i.e. Classics Department, Jewett Center for Community Partnerships). But you can add ANY reservations. So, next time you donate you can:
- Direct your donation to the student-controlled WSA budget which is completely independent from Admin.
- Restrict your donation until after Frank and Casper are gone from the Board
- Restrict your donation until all Trustees are alumni-appointed and elected.
- Restrict your donation until after President Roth leaves this school.
- I am not planning to donate: Call Michael Roth’s office and tell his team as much. He cares about donations so he will be frustrated by your call.
Want to Learn More about Wesleyan's Leaders?
Interested in learning more about these terrible companies & the people on our board who work for them?
Thermo-Fisher, Marc Capser, Xi Jinping & the Uhygur Genocide:
John Frank, Oaktree Capital Management & Chevron:
Andy Fairbanks & IBM’s link to the defense industry:
Ellen West & Google’s defense industry investments:
Further Board of Trustees Reading:
Adam Bird, one of our trustees, is a senior partner at Mckinsey & Company, a worldwide, multibillion dollar consulting firm who have their fingers in nearly everything! Read about their evildoings:
Scott Gottleib, another trustee, was Donald Trump’s FDA commissioner from 2017-2019!! HE’S THE MAN WHO BANNED FLAVORED JUUL PODS!!! Read about his continued relationship with Trump after his resignation in 2019 & the evils of the American Enterprise Institute think tank, a neoconservative think tank that he’s a senior fellow at:
John M. Shapiro, (the Shapiro Writing Center) has belonged to the leadership of many pro-israel organizations, including the IPF (Israel Policy Forum) and the AJC (American Jewish Committee), organizations key to shaping Israeli policy since 1948. While occupying these positions, he founded an investment firm that had 40% of it’s capital invested into Lockheed Martin. Read about it here:
Thermo-Fisher, Marc Capser, Xi Jinping & the Uhygur Genocide:
- Collective, Tibet Rights. “Explained: Thermo Fisher Helping China Steal Mass DNA of Tibetans in Tibet.” Tibet Rights Collective, https://www.tibetrightscollective.in/news/explained-thermo-fisher-helping-china-steal-mass-dna-of-tibetans-in-tibet.
- Hawkins, Amy, and Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent. “Thermo Fisher Stops Sale of DNA Kits in Tibet after Activists Raised Fears of Rights Abuses.” The Guardian, 6 Jan. 2024. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/06/thermo-fisher-stops-sale-dna-kits-tibet-activists-raised-fears-of-rights-abuses.
- ThermoFisher: Don’t Help China Steal Tibetan DNA – Students for a Free Tibet. https://studentsforafreetibet.org/our-work/thermofisher-dont-help-china-steal-tibetan-dna/
- Tsering, Dawa. “IPAC Petitions Group of Global Legislators to Sanction Firms Abetting PRC’s Mass DNA Collection Campaign.” Central Tibetan Administration, 19 Dec. 2022, https://tibet.net/ipac-petitions-group-of-global-legislators-to-sanction-firms-abetting-prcs-mass-dna-collection-campaign/.
- Wee, Sui-Lee. “China Still Buys American DNA Equipment for Xinjiang Despite Blocks.” The New York Times, 11 June 2021. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/business/china-dna-xinjiang-american.html.
- ---. “China Uses DNA to Track Its People, With the Help of American Expertise.” The New York Times, 21 Feb. 2019. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/business/china-xinjiang-uighur-dna-thermo-fisher.html.
- Hart, Dan. “Chinese Leader Xi Receives 3 Standing Ovations From US Execs.” The Daily Signal, 17 Nov. 2023, https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/11/17/us-business-execs-give-chinese-dictator-multiple-standing-ovations-during-exclusive-dinner/
John Frank, Oaktree Capital Management & Chevron:
- Lydia de Leeuw. “Beneath Troubled Waters.” SOMO, 10 May 2017, https://www.somo.nl/beneath-troubled-waters/.
- Oaktree Capital Group LLC | AFSC Investigate. https://investigate.afsc.org/company/oaktree-capital-management
- “Criticism of Chevron.” Wikipedia, 4 Jan. 2024. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Criticism_of_Chevron&oldid=1193530881
Andy Fairbanks & IBM’s link to the defense industry:
- Bogdanich, Walt, and Michael Forsythe. “How McKinsey Has Helped Raise the Stature of Authoritarian Governments.” The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2018. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/15/world/asia/mckinsey-china-russia.html.
- International Business Machines Corp | AFSC Investigate. https://investigate.afsc.org/company/ibm
Ellen West & Google’s defense industry investments:
- Nieva, Richard. “Google And Amazon Workers Protest Their Companies’ $1.2 Billion AI Contract With Israel.” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardnieva/2022/09/09/google-and-amazon-protest-project-nimbus-ai-contract-israel/
Further Board of Trustees Reading:
Adam Bird, one of our trustees, is a senior partner at Mckinsey & Company, a worldwide, multibillion dollar consulting firm who have their fingers in nearly everything! Read about their evildoings:
- Bogdanich, Walt, and Michael Forsythe. “How McKinsey Has Helped Raise the Stature of Authoritarian Governments.” The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2018. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/15/world/asia/mckinsey-china-russia.html
- Forsythe, Michael, and Walt Bogdanich. “McKinsey Advised Purdue Pharma How to ‘Turbocharge’ Opioid Sales, Lawsuit Says.” The New York Times, 2 Feb. 2019. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/01/business/purdue-pharma-mckinsey-oxycontin-opiods.html
- Premack, Rachel. “McKinsey Held a Lavish Corporate Retreat in Kashgar Miles from Where the Chinese Government Is Imprisoning Thousands of Ethnic Uighurs.” Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/mckinsey-china-uighur-corporate-retreat-china2018-12.
- McKinsey: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO). Directed by LastWeekTonight, 2023. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOUojVd6xQ
Scott Gottleib, another trustee, was Donald Trump’s FDA commissioner from 2017-2019!! HE’S THE MAN WHO BANNED FLAVORED JUUL PODS!!! Read about his continued relationship with Trump after his resignation in 2019 & the evils of the American Enterprise Institute think tank, a neoconservative think tank that he’s a senior fellow at:
- “American Enterprise Institute.” InfluenceWatch, https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/american-enterprise-institute/
- American Enterprise Institute - SourceWatch. https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Enterprise_Institute#News_and_Controversies
- “The Shadow Coronavirus Czar.” POLITICO, 15 Mar. 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/15/shadow-coronavirus-czar-scott-gottlieb-129563
John M. Shapiro, (the Shapiro Writing Center) has belonged to the leadership of many pro-israel organizations, including the IPF (Israel Policy Forum) and the AJC (American Jewish Committee), organizations key to shaping Israeli policy since 1948. While occupying these positions, he founded an investment firm that had 40% of it’s capital invested into Lockheed Martin. Read about it here:
- “American Jewish Committee.” Wikipedia, 8 Feb. 2024. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Jewish_Committee&oldid=1205023175#Controversy_and_criticism.
- “American Jewish Committee (AJC).” InfluenceWatch, https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/american-jewish-committee-ajc/.
- Honoring AJC President John Shapiro. Directed by American Jewish Committee, 2019. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVQGv9CzLbE .
- Zuckerman, Shira Ovide And Gregory. “Chieftain Firm Splits Over Conflicts.” Wall Street Journal, 23 Nov. 2009. www.wsj.com, https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703819904574552223436111980