Oil Be Damned if my College is taking money from THEM!
St. Peter’s College hit with scandal as they accept £5m donation from controversial Oil and Gas Company.
St. Peter’s College has drawn widespread student condemnation for accepting FIVE MILLION POUNDS from the multinational oil and gas company Perenco, after it emerges that the company has a history of destroying biodiversity and using armed forces to remove local villagers.
Earlier today, Mr Mark Damazer, the Master of St. Peter’s College, announced that he was signing a deal with Perenco to the tune of 5 million pounds, donated for the renovation of quads and facilities.
The donation was made by Francois and Bertrand Perredo, both alumni of St. Peter’s College, and descended from the Hector Perrodo, founder of the Perenco company.
However, it turns out that Perenco doesn’t have the most spotless record, and it would seem that St Peter’s College is taking money from a firm that has been accused of:
- Paying soldiers to remove the villagers from areas of oil extraction
- Using an inappropriate “1970’s format [that could damage] the Peruvian Amazon.”
- Denying the existence of uncontacted Amazonian tribes in locations where refineries are to be built.
Students at St. Peter’s were not pleased, calling the decision to accept the money “Terrible. The money should be re-donated to the Amazon” and saying that “Perhaps [college] should be putting more consideration into their sources of income.”
Luke Miller, a 1st year studying PPE at St. Peter’s said “I deeply question the college’s priorities when it decides to accept £5m from a company that has ruined the lives of thousands in South America simply to address issues with puddles on our quad. I call on the college to have a thorough look into the actions of Perenco before accepting this dirty money”
Navjeev Singh, JCR President of St. Peter’s, said “Given that St. Peter’s is one of the poorer colleges in Oxford, we do need the money, and it will be used for renovating facilties and accomodation, helping to make Peter’s a college that more people will put as their first choice. It’s also great that people who’ve graduated from the college have come back to help us out.
I understand the concerns that have been raised, but I feel that I am not qualified to comment on this issue, and to speculate on whether or not Perenco has done these things.”
Sushilla Dhall, Chair of the Oxfordshire Green Party, said “‘We understand the temptation of accepting large sums of money, whoever is the donor. However, if every recipient took the stand of refusing donations from morally questionable sources, as the Green Party does, and being clear why, then we might have a chance of living in a society which placed care for humanity and the environment above material wealth, and we would all be the richer, more civilized and more evolved for that stance.”
The office of Mark Damazer was unavailable for comment at this time.