Last October, a student who does not wish to be named, and others protested at a BAE Systems recruitment event hosted by the University of Sheffield against the company selling arms weapons to the Israeli army.
The event was held on campus, but the name of the company was not disclosed beforehand. It was only after arriving at the place the event was supposed to take place that it became apparent the talk had been moved online.
They spoke to other confused attendees, who forwarded them an email containing a link to join an online session. This email made it clear it was a BAE Systems (Aerospace Company) event.
A number of students joined online, and realising the chat function had been disabled, they expressed their freedom of speech using usernames.
These usernames included: ‘stop arming Israel’, and ‘don’t work in genocide.’ After moderators (University of Sheffield staff) repeatedly removed the students, the protestors rejoined the call, before the moderators chose to end the call 30 minutes in (out of a 2 hour session) due to the disruption.
It was then in late December, six students, who had been identified by IT, based on their device information were informed they would be subject to a disciplinary investigation beginning in January.
This was based on ‘disrupting University activity’, ‘obstructing the duties of staff members’, ‘bringing the University into disrepute’ and for ‘offensive behaviour.’
Students who were under investigation were informed at the beginning of the investigation that the actions taken against them could include a fine of £200 or even suspension or expulsion from the University.
The investigation included a student who had forwarded the link over email but who had not joined the call with a username, and another who had only joined after the call had ended.
These students had to attend a meeting with a University investigator, who was hired by the University in November to lead investigations against their students.
These students were subjected to questioning on the specific names they had used, despite not given notice of this evidence in the summary provided.
Following the meetings, mostly carried out in January except one in February, the students had to wait until mid-March to hear the outcome of the investigation and whether it would go onto later stages of disciplinary hearings.
The student who does not wished to be named said: “it felt like they (investigator) were trying to catch you out.” This period of uncertainty was particularly stressful, with the student having to apply for extenuating circumstances on upcoming assessments.
The students were then informed that the Deputy Chief Operating Officer, acting on advice by the police investigator, would be the figure of the deciding outcome.
The investigation concluded that these six students would have to pay for the right to protest on campus in the future, of an amount of £75 or agree to follow protest regulations.
A spokesperson from Sheffield UCU stated: “Sheffield UCU is aware that the University has spent £248k in policing pro-Palestine protests on campus in the last year with disproportionate impact on minoritised students and staff members. Further, we have seen the heavy-handedness of campus security during the career fairs protest. With this, it is apparent that the University is using fear and intimidation tactics to silence any critiques, with serious consequences for students and staff academic freedom of expression and well-being.”
“Several of our own events have been cancelled or moved off-campus, because they centered Palestine or referred to the University’s complicity with arms companies. Organisations such as ELSC and our local Labour Councillars have also expressed their concerns to the University.”
“Yet the University has continued disciplining students for challenging the presence of arms companies on campus. We urge the University to engage transparently with its members and prioritise the rights and demands of its students and staff over their business interests.”
A spokesperson from the University of Sheffield, said: “The University fully supports freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest within the law. However, we also have a responsibility to maintain a safe, effective, and welcoming environment for everyone. We have been clear with students that protests should not disrupt any teaching, events or University business, or intimidate students, staff and visitors.”
“At a BAE Systems event students made a significant attempt to disrupt University activity, prevented staff members from doing their jobs, prevented a group of students from attending and demonstrated offensive behaviour, which we have a responsibility to investigate. We understand disciplinary processes can be worrying and provide comprehensive welfare support.”
