Edinburgh University students required to present ID to enter Old College amid protests

The measure has been introduced to ‘ensure the safety of students’

7 months ago

Edinburgh University students are now required to present their student and staff IDs upon entering Old College, following the EUJPS’s encampment within the quad.

In an email, the University of Edinburgh stated that staff and students must present their university ID’s upon entering the building to “ensure the safety of students, staff, and visitors”.

The Law School stated that “a small group of people are occupying the Old College quad,” EUJPS refuted a similar statement on social media, correcting the university’s statement to “a HUGE group of opponents to genocide are liberating the Old College quad”.

Spaces within Old College now requiring ID card access include: The Law School, The Law Library, Old College reception, meeting rooms, and offices, and the Talbot Rice Gallery.

This decision follows the Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society’s (EUJPS) encampment and hunger strike within the quad, after months of trying to pressure the university into divesting from companies supplying arms to Israel, alleging the “inaction and direct complicity of [Edinburgh University] in the face of an ongoing genocide”.

The email said: “We support the right to take part in lawful, peaceful and respectful protest and we are in touch with the protestors to listen to their concerns and to ensure their safety.”

Despite these assurances, tensions remain high as the university continues to implement security measures amidst the protests, encampments, and hunger strikes on campus.