Thomas Hayward
DISCLAIMER: This article was completed on 15th May 2024. No events following this date have been reported on in the article.
Students from the University of Nottingham have established an encampment on Jubilee Campus, in protest at the University of Nottingham’s involvement in the arms trade.
Nottingham Encampment for the Liberation of Palestine
The camp has been set up outside the Advanced Manufacturing Building, which protestors say “carries out research for arms companies”. Members of the camp, referring to themselves as Nottingham Encampment for the Liberation of Palestine (NCLP), have cited the Demilitarise Education’s organisation, which values the University’s links to the arms trade at over £43 million.
In a press release, the NCLP called for the University to “disclose” its financial relations, “divest” from the arms trade, “support” Palestinian students and the right to protest on campus, and “invest” in rebuilding Gaza’s infrastructure.
The group has criticised the University in particular for partnerships with BAE Systems, the largest defence contractor in Europe, and Rolls Royce, which produces engines for military vessels and aircraft.
The University formalised a “strategic partnership” with BAE systems
In 2021, the University formalised a “strategic partnership” with BAE systems, under which the organisations look to “collaborate on new and innovative digital manufacturing technologies”.
The University also has a long-standing relationship of collaboration with Rolls Royce, which now encompasses a University Technology Centre (UTC) and includes efforts to help the company transition to Net Zero.
The NCLP action is in coordination with a number of organisations including Demilitarise UoN and People for Palestine Nottingham.
The University and College Union […] has endorsed campus protests
The University and College Union, which represents over 120,000 university employees across the UK including many at UoN, has endorsed campus protests across the UK and stated that students and staff participating in the protests “are defending the core values of higher learning”.
In March, 1,940 UoN students voted in favour of a Student Union motion calling to “end UoN complicity with war crimes”.
Spread across several high-profile US universities
Similar encampments have been established at several other Russell Group universities, including Cambridge, Manchester and Warwick, after a Pro-Palestinian movement spread across several high-profile US universities in April. The movement began at Columbia University in New York, where the encampment was eventually ended amid a large and controversial police presence.
Thomas Hayward
Featured image courtesy of Ömer Yidix via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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