In the context of the devastating situation in the Israel-Gaza war, the values we hold dear as an institutional community are tested as we seek to put principles into practice.
As a university that is committed to social justice and the pursuit of knowledge, when we witnessed the devastating destruction of the university sector in Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe that the people of Gaza are facing, it was right that SOAS condemned the attacks on universities and added its voice in support of a ceasefire. Since then, colleagues at SOAS have continued to identify new opportunities for SOAS to respond to the crisis, such as the creation of a scholarship programme to support Palestinian students.
As Palestine solidarity protests have emerged on campuses in the US and the UK and when an encampment began at SOAS on 6 May, freedom of expression could not simply be something we talked about but was something we would need to apply in practice. We stated clearly in our communications to students and staff that we would not seek to remove the encampment as long as it remains peaceful, is confined to the green, and does not threaten or disrupt our teaching, learning and examinations. A number of journalists visiting SOAS since 6 May have noted the open atmosphere that exists here in contrast to some campuses.
We are grateful to the overwhelming majority of participants at the encampment who have exercised their right to freedom of expression while respecting the rights of others, enabling their fellow community members to come onto campus to study, to teach, to take exams, to meet with friends and colleagues, and in respect of those rights ensure the normal running of the university.
There are, however, a small minority of protesters who have not respected the rights of others, who wrongly believe that creating a crisis at SOAS will help victims in Gaza.
In May, a Board of Trustees meeting was disrupted by student protesters, individual members of staff were targeted which caused alarm and distress, and toilets have been vandalised. Protests have also been conducted inside SOAS buildings and there was an attempted occupation, disrupting the normal operation of the university. Some of these activities were carried out by students wearing face masks to conceal their identities.
Our Provost has written to those students who have been involved in these incidents and made clear that if they continue to break the rules, we will be forced to act. In addition those who have already received a final warning for their involvement in previous incidents have been suspended with immediate effect. To date this applies to one student.
These disciplinary procedures do not change our approach to the encampment that we set out on 6 May. We have committed to further engagement with the Student Union in relation to the seven demands of the encampment and we met with the sabbatical officers last week to agree a way forward. We will be widening these discussions to include UCU, Unison and representatives of the encampment in the coming days.
However, we are concerned to see that there has been an escalation of the encampment across the precinct area. To ensure the normal running of the university we simply cannot allow any attempt to occupy the university and we will be forced to act if this happens. Any attempt to target individuals with defamatory language will not be tolerated and contributes to an intimidatory environment.
Freedom of expression clearly cannot mean ignoring the rights of others on campus. When the SOAS administration intervenes to uphold the rights of our community it is dishonest to claim that this is about silencing activists, as some have claimed since last October.
We hope that our measured approach to the encampment makes clear that our aim is to run the university in the interests of the entire community. We want SOAS to be a place where the voices of all can be heard and engaged with, and where everyone feels safe and welcomed. Maintaining this environment sometimes means making difficult decisions and taking action against individuals who flout the rules at a cost to others.
We thank everyone who continues to be a part of building the inclusive and welcoming environment that makes SOAS a thrilling place to learn, teach and work.
We also want to recognise the ongoing suffering of people in Israel and Palestine and the distress of members of our community, especially those with connections to the region. We want to pay tribute to everyone in our community who is contributing to a way forward in Israel and Palestine in the many and varied ways we hear about when on campus. Each act might seem insignificant against the scale of the crisis, but they light a different way forward in the darkness of conflict and war.
- Statement on the Palestine solidarity encampment at SOAS - May 2024
