Hannah Ponting, Liverpool Socialist Students
In recent years there has been a huge explosion of youth protests not just in the UK, but across the globe. With encampments, walkouts, and student resistance movements, university campuses have become key sites of protest. This activism has been particularly notable in relation to the horrific events taking place in Gaza, with students making it clear that companies supplying arms to the Israeli state have no place on campuses.
Recent reports in the Guardian have shown the lengths universities have gone to stop protests, particularly those demanding divestment from Israel, and against arms companies facilitating weapons used in the Gaza slaughter. In some cases, universities have taken legal action against those involved in encampments.
In February 2024, Cardiff University shifted its careers event from in-person to online in agreement with BAE systems, a major British arms company, after social media posts indicated a protest was being planned in opposition. Similarly, email correspondence between Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and Rolls Royce revealed that the company had asked the university to “monitor university chat groups” on its behalf before a careers fair.
These are not isolated incidents. In fact, almost a quarter of universities have launched disciplinary action against pro-Gaza student and staff activists between October 2023 and March 2025.
Even more concerning is the coordinated effort by the Association of University Chief Security Officers to deter protest activity, framing it as “affecting our students’ career advancement”. Such rhetoric not only undermines the right to protest but is also an attempt to intimidate anyone that wants to show their opposition to the actions of their university or government.
Jo Grady, University and College Union (UCU) general secretary, correctly spoke out in opposition to this, stating that student protesters should be supported by universities, and the fact that universities have sunk important resources into surveilling students, seemingly on the say-so of these defence companies, is “utterly shameful”. At the same time, across the country university staff have been made redundant and courses have been closed due to a ‘lack of funding’.
In this time of crackdowns on university protests, it is vital that staff and students stand alongside each other in solidarity, and continue to demand transparency, divestment from arms companies, and the right to protest about these matters. University bosses try to keep arms companies and others onside because they rely on investment from big businesses to make ends meet. We need a fully free education system, by taking the wealth out of the hands of the super-rich, and to kick private profit out of our education system.
