VSN urges university to divest from hostile hotelier
Ari Schwartz
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: Opinion
Students at several universities were alerted of their schools' ties with HEI through an Oct. 2006 presentation made to Cornell University hotel management students by HEI's two founders, Gary and Steve Mendell. During this presentation, it was revealed which universities make up HEI's investment fund. Vanderbilt was included on that list.
In response to a letter from Vanderbilt Students of Nonviolence asking for clarification on our University's investment in HEI, Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos stated that such financial information is not disclosed. According to Zeppos, Vanderbilt takes great care in selecting independent fund managers that share our values of fair practice and justice, but it is these fund managers who are directly responsible for which investments make up the endowment, not Vanderbilt.
Zeppos' response makes sense with respect to Vanderbilt's indirect handling of its endowment. He pointed out that the university itself simply cannot possess the means to successfully invest such a large and important sum of money. What makes no sense is a deflection of responsibility and with that blame to Vanderbilt's hire endowment managers.
The bottom line is that our money is being used to fund unjust and cruel labor practices at 32 (and counting) HEI hotels across the country. The profits of our endowment are being reaped and our scholarships are being created off the maltreatment of low-paid workers. Vanderbilt has chosen these fund managers to invest its money in accordance with its values; our University is responsible for where our money goes.
The notion that the University has limited discretion is irrelevant. When our endowment's fund managers fail to uphold our values, as they have in pouring money into HEI, Vanderbilt fails to uphold its core values.
There is a great level of trust that flows between a university and its students when they choose to enroll. With their tuition payments, students are entrusting their university to use that money to deliver an education and experience consistent with its stated goals and values.
In return, the university entrusts its students with maintaining those goals and values by excelling on campus. By investing in HEI Hotels & Resorts, Vanderbilt has broken that trust. We, as students, trusted Vanderbilt to invest responsibly and it has not. The university should no longer hide its investments behind a policy of nondisclosure. Our money is not being used in the manner we trust it to be and workers are suffering as a result.
To regain that trust and move toward an overall ethic of responsible investment, Vanderbilt must cut ties with HEI and keep a closer eye on the labor practices of the companies in which it invests.
In response to a letter from Vanderbilt Students of Nonviolence asking for clarification on our University's investment in HEI, Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos stated that such financial information is not disclosed. According to Zeppos, Vanderbilt takes great care in selecting independent fund managers that share our values of fair practice and justice, but it is these fund managers who are directly responsible for which investments make up the endowment, not Vanderbilt.
Zeppos' response makes sense with respect to Vanderbilt's indirect handling of its endowment. He pointed out that the university itself simply cannot possess the means to successfully invest such a large and important sum of money. What makes no sense is a deflection of responsibility and with that blame to Vanderbilt's hire endowment managers.
The bottom line is that our money is being used to fund unjust and cruel labor practices at 32 (and counting) HEI hotels across the country. The profits of our endowment are being reaped and our scholarships are being created off the maltreatment of low-paid workers. Vanderbilt has chosen these fund managers to invest its money in accordance with its values; our University is responsible for where our money goes.
The notion that the University has limited discretion is irrelevant. When our endowment's fund managers fail to uphold our values, as they have in pouring money into HEI, Vanderbilt fails to uphold its core values.
There is a great level of trust that flows between a university and its students when they choose to enroll. With their tuition payments, students are entrusting their university to use that money to deliver an education and experience consistent with its stated goals and values.
In return, the university entrusts its students with maintaining those goals and values by excelling on campus. By investing in HEI Hotels & Resorts, Vanderbilt has broken that trust. We, as students, trusted Vanderbilt to invest responsibly and it has not. The university should no longer hide its investments behind a policy of nondisclosure. Our money is not being used in the manner we trust it to be and workers are suffering as a result.
To regain that trust and move toward an overall ethic of responsible investment, Vanderbilt must cut ties with HEI and keep a closer eye on the labor practices of the companies in which it invests.
Be the first to comment on this story