University of Glasgow management has been accused of attempting to “silence” students involved in pro-Palestine activism at the institution’s Gilmorehill campus.
Pickets and rallies outside several buildings last term led to threats of “disciplinary action”, according to the student-run Justice for Palestine Society (JPS).
A university spokesperson said the university would not “tolerate activities which interfere with the rights of others to go about their business in peace”.
Today students staged a further protest at the University of Glasgow by blockading the engineering department in their bid to enforce an academic boycott on Israel.
They were calling on the university to sever ties with arms companies with around 50 students blocking entrances to the Rankine Engineering Building from 6am on Wednesday.
Last week two pro-Palestine protestors with Youth Demand were arrested after spraying red paint on the James McCune Smith building.
One JPS member told The Herald: “We want full divestment. The university currently invests £6 million in the arms industry, and this is unacceptable.”
A week after the vote, protestors blocked entrances to the university’s Rankine Engineering Building, demonstrating against research partnerships with Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems.
After several hours, UoG leaders told students they would face “disciplinary action”, including suspension from classes, should they continue to picket.
According to a JPS member: “Management has been more extreme and more aggressive towards activism on campus.
“There’s constant back and forth, but leadership is not engaging with our demands.
“Escalation is our only option”, the student said, adding: “Staff and students support divestment, but management still voted to keep investing.”
A statement by JPS said the university’s actions amounted to “undemocratic silencing tactics”, noting: "This marks an ominous tone for the consequences for students engaging in future peaceful activism and exercise of their free speech.”
Asked to respond, a spokesperson for the university acknowledged some students had been contacted due to their participation in the protests, adding: “As an institution we stand against hate or harassment of any kind. We regularly communicate with all our staff and students about the need for tolerance towards each other, and we reiterate this call for all members of our community to be respectful at all times.
"The University of Glasgow upholds the right to freedom of expression, including the right of staff and students to engage in peaceful demonstrations.”
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Students hold University of Glasgow protest to demand Israel boycott
Across town at Glasgow Caledonian University, student activists say it took senior management over a year to meet them.
Beth Meadows, a PhD researcher and co-president of the GCU Palestine Solidarity Society told The Herald: “Management eventually did come around the table. They definitely listened to us and gave us space to speak, but outwith that, we haven’t received any compromises on any of our demands.”
“It’s been very disappointing.”
They have also asked the university to provide at least three “fully paid degree scholarships” for Palestinian students, and to ‘twin’ with one of Gaza’s twelve universities in a show of solidarity.
Ms Meadows added: “Under the Equality Act, we are allowed to have anti-Zionist positions and act on those political beliefs. We haven’t always felt that the university has respected that as a stance for us to hold.”
However, some institutions are making positive steps in relation to the conflict.
At the University of Aberdeen, a staff and student assembly has been set up to discuss the institution’s response to “international conflict”.
The forum, to be held on Valentine’s Day, comes as the result of a settlement between management and student protestors who camped outside the university’s chapel for 36 days last spring.
“We’ve been planning the event together, and the university has taken initiative in finding speakers.”
The tenuous relationship between the two sides has not been perfect, however. A room booking for an event with prominent pro-Palestine speaker Mandla Mandela (grandson of Nelson) was cancelled in October, without explanation.
While Ms Mbarki said the society was “looking forward” to the assembly, she warned: “The university is aware that if things don’t go the way the staff and students have asked, there will be more action.
In a statement, a University of Aberdeen spokesperson said: “The University supports and promotes the right of all members of our community to have a voice. To facilitate this a University Assembly on how the institution responds to international conflicts in the broadest terms will be held on Friday 14 February.
“The process will mix expert presentations with independently facilitated discussion providing opportunities to share relevant concerns, issues and recommend potential approaches for the University to consider in relation to the broad range of issues within this topic.
“What these suggestions are, will be for the Assembly to decide when they meet next month. Assembly models have been successfully used in Ireland and within the Climate policy arena, addressing topics with highly diverse opinions and informing public policy.”
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