CUNY Must Release Investment Records to Pro-Palestine Student Organizers, Court Rules

NEW YORK, NY – In a win for transparency and academic fairness, a state judge ruled in Southey v. City University of New York (CUNY) that the school cannot withhold records regarding its investment funds, bonds, and private equity holdings, as well as any purchase orders as part of contracts it may have with companies like Dell, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrup Grumman.

This decision comes after CUNY refused to disclose its investment records to a representative for the student groups CUNY for Palestine and CUNY Law Students for Justice in Palestine in early 2024, despite having given earlier versions of the exact records to other student groups previously. The New York Civil Liberties Union challenged the school’s targeted refusal in November 2024.

In response to this victory, the New York Civil Liberties Union and plaintiff Sarah Southey released the following statements: 

“The Court rightly affirmed that CUNY’s refusal to disclose its investment records to CUNY for Palestine was unlawful,” said Veronica Salama, Staff Attorney at the NYCLU. “Public universities like CUNY have a legal obligation to uphold transparency and treat all its students, faculty, and community members equally, no matter their viewpoint. CUNY can’t just pick and choose which viewpoints to respect and which to ignore — every student deserves fair, equal treatment.”

“This decision is a huge win for institutional transparency, accountability, and CUNY4Palestine’s campaign demanding CUNY divest from Israel,” said Sarah Southey, plaintiff. “For months, CUNY has selectively targeted pro-Palestine organizing — denying our FOIL requests, firing faculty, suspending students, and allowing police to brutally shut down protest. This decision says loud and clear that CUNY cannot hide public information or try to silence CUNY4Palestine because they don’t agree with the movement for Palestinian life and liberation. CUNY is not above the law.”

The order and all case materials can be found here.

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