Students Against Apartheid (Ohio Wesleyan)

Students Against Apartheid advocated for the Board of Trustees of Ohio Wesleyan University to fully divest from companies in South Africa. The group pointed out that, in May, 1987, Rev. Leon Sullivan had abandoned his “Sullivan Principles” for how U.C. companies should operate in South Africa and called for total divestment, so it made no sense for Ohio Wesleyan to continue its policy of divesting only from companies that did not support these Principles. Students Against Apartheid built shanties on campus in the fall of 1988 which were destroyed and rebuilt over a period of two years. The group held a peaceful protest outside the trustees meeting in October 1989, where three of its student members spoke in favor of full divestment. The Board of Trustees, which included a Vice President of IBM, finally voted to fully divest at its June, 1990 meeting. (Source: Articles in The Tribune student newspaper.)