Graduation day marked by Palestine solidarity protests and calls for fossil fuel divestment

A number of University of Bristol graduation ceremonies were disrupted by protests in solidarity with Palestine this week, as students called for the university divest from fossil fuel companies.

The protests included rallies outside the Wills Memorial Building as graduations took place, as well as protests on stage.  

Paddy Vipond, a society, politics and climate change graduate, stood at his graduation last week with a banner which read: “UoB took £3m from fossil fuel since 2017.”

The livestream of the graduations was cut during his protest o January 24th, and only restarted after Paddy had left the stage. Paddy’s graduation gown also featured a Palestinian flag as a symbol of support.

On the same day, groups in support of Palestinian liberation held a protest, rally, and bake sale outside Wills Memorial Building, calling for Bristol University to divest from companies and arms corporations facilitating Israel’s regime, defend free speech on campus, and support the right to education in Palestine.  

The event was organised to take place on the UN International Day of Education, which is also Graduation Day for many University of Bristol students and aims to continue dedicating support to Palestinians. 

Speakers at the rally for Palestine included students and staff at the university condemning the partnerships the university maintains with arms companies; calling for the university to defend free speech for students on campus; demanding a commitment from the university in supporting the right to education in Palestine through partnerships and advocacy; and calling for more action to be taken with regards to the fossil fuel crisis.  

Shortly after the conclusion of the rally at 1:30pm, the last graduates were entering Wills Memorial Building for their graduation ceremony.  

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Both protests called for divestment from partnerships with either arms companies or companies which actively contribute to the climate crisis.

Despite the universities commitment to divesting from fossil fuels, they accepted £1m in funding from fossil fuel and mining companies, the Cable reports.  

Credit: Earth Justice Society Bristol

“I assumed, naively, that they would have a policy, or that [the divestment decision] would include a policy, where they don’t accept money from fossil fuel companies,” Paddy told the Cable.

Adding: “You can’t claim to be green and ethical and sustainable on one hand and say ‘we’re not investing’, but then, on the other hand, you just take millions in donations from the same companies. It’s rank hypocrisy.”

Bristol has over £90 million in defence industry partnerships according to Demilitarise Education, for which it has come under heavy student scrutiny for, as many of these companies have directly sold weapons to Israel.  

Screenshot from video of altercation

An additional protest took place on 22nd January, where a protestor “physically dragged the student protester up the staircase” after they interrupted a graduation ceremony in support of Palestine. 

Graduates seated near the protest inside the Wills Memorial Building were supportive of the protests. One graduate mentioned she “had no problem with the protesters,” highlighting their friendliness, and that she was “happy to see them.”  The crowd consensus appeared to be supportive of the disruption during the ceremony.

Explaining the reason behind their activism, one protestor claimed there was “too much money spent on arms companies.”

Reflecting frustrations held by many other protesters, they added: “They’re spending too much on defence and not enough on reducing poverty.”

A University of Bristol spokesperson said: “We graduated thousands of students last week and were delighted to welcome them to celebrate with their friends and families.

“A small group of masked protestors expressed their views using a loudhailer at one of the ceremonies during which there was a minor altercation with a member of the audience. University security arrived quickly, and the protestors left the building.

“We support the right to freedom of expression and to engage in protest when it is lawful and peaceful and understand the deeply held concerns that many in our community feel about the situation in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.

“The university’s association with a wide variety of organisations helps drive innovative research and improves our students’ future careers. All our partnerships undergo stringent diligence checks and ethical reviews.”

The spokesperson continued: “We support the right to freedom of expression and to engage in lawful, peaceful protest on issues that matter to members of our community.

“The University of Bristol plays a key role in tackling environmental change through its research, its teaching and how it operates. Our research partnerships undergo stringent due diligence checks and ethical review.

“Though the University works with a small number of organisations within the fossil fuel sector, the emphasis is primarily on the progressive side of their businesses, focussing on lower carbon futures. Examples of this type of research include:

• Creating sustainable materials providing alternative lower energy, greener routes to essential chemicals
• Developing the basic science behind the exploration of new copper deposits which are essential as conductors to transport renewable electrical power
• Reducing Co2 emissions by designing catalysts as green routes to renewable fuels.

“Sustainability remains one of the central strands shaping the University’s vision of the future. We were the first in the UK to declare a climate emergency in 2019 reaffirming our strong and positive commitment to take action on climate change and, a year later, in 2020 we completely divested from all investments in fossil fuel companies.

“We’re working towards becoming net zero by 2030 and continue to work with industry and other sectors using research to help reduce carbon emissions. The Cabot Institute for the Environment is at the forefront of world-leading research into environmental challenges and our expert academics provide advice and guidance to decision-makers on an international, national and local level.”