Overview
- Drake’s letter to chancellors formalizes a systemwide ban on country-based financial boycotts by authorized student governments and university entities.
- Federal research agencies have added conditions to HHS and NSF grants that require recipients to certify they will not engage in Israel boycotts to protect billions in campus funding.
- Registered student clubs remain exempt from the ban and retain autonomy over their political positions and financial decisions.
- The directive arrives as a presidential antisemitism task force investigates UC for alleged discrimination and warns of potential funding cuts under civil rights statutes.
- The ban relies on existing university rules mandating competitive bidding and sound business practices to prohibit boycotts of companies linked to any nation.