Students on campuses throughout the UK have demonstrated their opposition to the arms trade as part of a national Universities’ Day of Action. Following on from the recent wave of demonstrations that swept 19 campuses in January, students, supported by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), have engaged in activities calling for an end to university involvement with the arms trade.
Demands made by student activists include:
Warwick Students set up an alternative career service dispensing information on arms companies who regularly attend recruitment fairs at the university, followed by a series of workshops on the arms trade.
Nottingham Students arranged a die-in outside the university, whereby activists lay prostrate on the floor to represent the arms trade’s eventual victims. Fliers and leaflets were dispensed to further raise awareness.
University College London (UCL) Following the recent adoption of an ethical investment committee, students submitted an open letter to the university calling for disinvestment from Cobham.
Cardiff Students are holding an entire week of activism under the Disarm Cardiff
theme. This includes a public meeting with CAAT and other speakers.
Central Lancashire, Preston Students held an hour-long rooftop protest while others handed out leaflets on BAE funded research at the university and university investments in arms companies.
Other demonstrations also took place at Leeds, Lancashire, Glasgow and Durham, while York University is also planning a follow up at the end of the month.
CAAT has published a wealth of data concerning the various links between universities and British arms companies, including university investment in the arms trade and recruitment of students by arms companies.
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For further information or an interview please contact CAAT’s Media Coordinator, Kaye Stearman on 020 7281 0297 or mobile 07990 673232 or email media(at)caat·org·uk.
Notes
- Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) works for the reduction and ultimate abolition of the international arms trade.
- CAAT has details of many of the activists involved with the recent campus demonstrations, and can provide contact details and photographs on request.
