Catherine Rusoff
Sacramento, California – Earlier this week, Sacramento State University President Luke Wood oversaw a peaceful end to a protest on campus about the Israel-Hamas war, one of many that have taken place at universities across the country in recent weeks.
The Sacramento State camp was destroyed, not with violence, but with dialogue.
“We want to thank Luke Wood for not following the example of other administrations and not calling the Sacramento police,” one student said at a news conference Wednesday.
“That’s what a lot of students are really looking for: taking a moral stance on what’s going on in the world,” Wood told CBS News.
Wood, 42, who says he tries to lead with empathy, grew up in foster homes, suffered bouts of hunger and homelessness and graduated from the school he now oversees.
“I did 92 listening sessions, 75 minutes each, with over 1,500 students, faculty and staff,” Wood said.
The pro-Palestinian camp in the school library courtyard began on April 29.
“First, I need to say how I feel as a person, as an individual, and really, as a Black man, I feel a heightened level of anxiety,” Wood said. “When people are afraid, they respond through a protected mechanism, which does not always lead to the best outcomes.”
The protest it ended Wednesday, as the university shared a new policy in which it “directs its assistants… to investigate socially responsible investment strategies that include not having direct investments in companies and funds that profit from genocide, ethnic cleansing and activities that violate fundamental human rights.”
Wood reiterated to CBS News that “we are not investing in students’ futures by engaging in relationships with companies that profit from war.”
Although he is concerned about the possibility of losing the support of some donors and state legislators, Wood is confident in his decision to support the new policy.
“I care a lot about what our donors think,” Wood said. “I care deeply about what our legislators think. But ultimately my responsibility is for the health, safety and learning and development of this campus.”
Political science student Sarah Bukhari, who was inside the camp, said she not only raised her voice, but found it.
“I feel heard,” Bukhari said. “I’m not going to lie to you. I cried a few times. I’m 29 years old and my entire life no one has asked me what I thought about US-Arab relations.”
That’s exactly the feeling Wood hopes to foster.
“The message here is to create an environment where people can engage in honest and open dialogue without being vilified or canceled,” Wood said.
