KCLSU will not fund BDS motion

KCLSU will not provide resources for BDS movement, today’s announcement reveals


KCL Trustees have confirmed that KCLSU will not be used to fund the controversial BDS movement.

The KCLSU Board of Trustees has released a statement today condemning the controversial BDS motion. 

In a compromise, however, the board has agreed not to fully override the motion – but have confirmed they will not be using SU resources to promote the BDS movement.

In an expected move, they released the following statement:

“After careful consideration and taking into account legal advice, the viewpoints expressed by a number of students, and KCLSU’s safe space policy, the KCLSU Trustee Board reached two decisions.

The first decision was that the Board should not override the motion in its entirety. This means that the motion will be published within the KCLSU Welfare and Community Zone alongside other issues on which our members have, by majority, voted.

The second decision was made that we will not use KCLSU resources to implement the ‘Resolves ’- section of the motion or otherwise promote the BDS movement through the union.

And King’s College London released a statement on 25th March, advising that:

“King’s College London is proud of its diverse and inclusive community, which comprises students and staff from more than 140 countries. Members of the College community encompass a very wide range of political, religious and other points of view.

As knowledge is worldwide, King’s College London does not support or engage in boycotts of academic institutions. Universities depend on freedom of speech and freedom of enquiry, which are fundamental to both teaching and research.

King’s College London Students’ Union (KCLSU) is constitutionally separate from, and independent of, King’s College London. The BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) motion passed at the Student General Meeting on 25March 2014 is a matter for KCLSU, an independent registered charity and membership organisation, governed by its own Board of Trustees.”

The motion itself passed through the KCLSU Student General Meeting last Tuesday, with a margin of just under 100 votes.  It gained 348 votes from the 25000-large student body, carrying over a mandate of just 1.4%.

The debate attracted much controversy, with reports of aggressive chanting and continued reminders of the ‘Safe Space’ policy.

And KCLSU reports that turnout to the meeting significantly declined after the BDS motion passed through.

Over 200 students signed an independent petition to the Trustee Board, expressing their concerns with the professionalism of KCLSU, and calling for:

“The KCLSU Board of Trustees to override the resolution adopted by the KCLSU Student General Meeting on March 25th, 2014 regarding the BDS movement in accordance with Article 63.1.1 of the KCLSU Articles of Association”.

There are also clamours for KCLSU to release any legal advice that they may have sought on the topic, in the name of full disclosure.

The endorsement of this policy could prove problematic for Sabbatical Officers, who are split on the topic and must now seek ways to implement the divisive motion, while facing heavy opposition from the wider Israeli community on an international scale.

The tensions culminated in the vandalism of a Muslim Prayer Room sign at Guy’s Campus, which has been widely condemned by all parties. The Israel Society described it in a statement as “abusive, Islamophobic [and] racist’ and expressed desire to continue to work with societies in safe spaces.”

Yamir Ash a second year History and War Studies student told The Tab:

“I don’t think a vote which involved less than 5% of the student population is in anyway legitimate in representing KCL students, which is precisely what KCLSU is meant to be doing.

“When I voted for Areeb to be vice president I did so because of his excellent policies to help students – not for his political views which he didn’t state, and is now using his position’s influence to amplify them.”