Dear Virginia Tech Administration,

As alumni of Virginia Tech, we are writing to express our deep commitment to promoting ethical investments within our university's endowment and steps to remediate the assault on the faculty & students that are demonstrating on campus.

Virginia Tech currently has investments tied to companies that are complicit in the on-going displacement, ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people. As firm believers in human rights and the importance of responsible investment practices, we feel compelled to take action. According to the United Nations, Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed 33,797+ Palestinians, 14,000+ of those killed being children, destroyed 70,000+ housing units, displaced 1.7 million people, and plunged all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents into “acute” levels of food insecurity. Over the past six months, we have watched with horror as our university profits from this ongoing genocide. In solidarity with the current Virginia Tech student protestors, we—a collective of Virginia Tech alumni, parents, and graduating seniors—commit to withholding all donations to our university until the following occurs: 

1. The administration makes a public statement committing to divest in compliance with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in addition to defense contracting companies that profit off the ongoing genocide. These companies include, but are not limited to: Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, G3 technologies, Northrop Grumman, Intel, Thales Defense and Security and PepsiCo.

2. Increased transparency in future investments. 

3. All charges against the student and faculty protestors that were wrongfully arrested for exercising their first amendment rights at the Graduate Life Center lawn demonstration are dropped. 

It is crucial to us that the values we uphold as an institution align with ethical principles and contribute positively to the global community. We understand that divestment is a complex issue and requires careful consideration. However, the on-going assault in Gaza is a dire humanitarian crisis, therefore we strongly urge the university administration to prioritize this matter and take proactive steps towards divesting. Please consider this letter as both a call to action and a commitment to our University’s future.