Yesterday (August 15), students from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) voted for the university to cut ties with weapons companies and to divest from Israel.
That is now the official position of QUT Guild, the student union.
READ MORE: Human Rights and Wrongs: Palestine Edition
The vote was held during the first QUT Guild “Special General Meeting” in recent history. A Special General Meeting is, essentially, a meeting that is open to all members of the QUT Guild – meaning the entire (currently enrolled) student body.
For the meeting to reach quorum and go ahead, it had to reach half of 1% of the student body – or around 270 students.
There was no problem reaching that number. Though the meeting was set to kick off at 4:30pm, the crowd was already forming by 3:30pm. Lines for registration curved all the way around Z Block to the food court, with cheers of “Free Palestine” resounding.
The first lecture theatre filled out completely within ten minutes, and an overflow room was opened, where students could watch and vote via livestream.
Overall, approximately 650 students attended – over double the number needed.
Every student at the meeting was asked to vote on three questions:
- Should QUT cut ties with Boeing, the US Air Force, Thales and Rheinmetall?
- Should QUT disclose all ties with Israel and with the weapons industry?
- Should QUT divest from Israel and the weapons industry?
The motions were voted for “en bloc”, meaning they were voted on as a singular motion.
But before students could vote, the floor was opened for speakers “for” and “against” the motion.
Education Officer Isabella Foley spoke first, as the mover of the motion. Calling Gaza “the world’s largest open-air prison”, she talked about how universities around the globe are “complicit” in the genocide – including QUT.
Specifically calling out QUT Vice-Chancellor Margaret Sheil, Foley said, “She has blood money on her hands.”
“Our university fees should not be used in the slaughter of Palestinians.”
Finishing up, Foley urged students to “stand on the right side of history and vote ‘yes’.”
The second speaker for the motion was Malaak Seleem, a Palestinian student whose family has been affected by Israel’s genocide.
She spoke on her personal experience, mentioning her cousin who was killed by technology that QUT has ties with.
“This university is tainted in blood,” she said. Following Foley’s example, she also asked students to vote ’yes’, saying, ““I don’t want blood on my hands, and I know you don’t either.”
The last speaker for the motion was CIESJ Councillor Erin Milne. They talked about the repression ‘Students for Palestine’ activists have faced at the hands of QUT security, with threats to call the police and constant harassment.
“QUT says it’s the ‘University for the Real World’, I say it’s more like the ‘University for the genocidal world’,” they said. “I want to fight for a world where genocides don’t happen, and billionaires don’t exist.”
After Milne’s speech, the floor was opened to any speakers against the motion.
One unnamed student came forward to speak. He began his speech by clarifying that he is against Israel’s actions, though he said he thinks the motions put forward were “slightly naive” and “not for Palestine.”
Noting that the companies that the motions wanted QUT to cut ties with – Boeing, the US Air Force, Thales and Rheinmetall – are often the companies providing internships for engineering students, he said, “You are restricting many students from excellent working opportunities… Sounds ridiculous to me.”
He also mentioned that the US Air Force is “sometimes responsible for aid.”
The heart of his argument was based around the fact that “all companies do terrible things”, yet people don’t boycott all of them – he cited Neste’s human rights violations as an example.
He finished his speech by saying, “We are only going to hurt our own students with this motion.”
After that was a second speaker against the motion, who echoed the same concerns.
“It will be limiting our opportunities as engineering students,” he said. “I am not here for conflict and I’m not for this war, but cutting ties is a bit of a stretch.”
In response to this argument, a Palestinian student spoke on how the boycotting movement has been working, citing the recent firing of Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, following international boycotts of the company.
“If you cut them off, you are making a difference. Every dollar counts. Even the littlest things make a difference,” she said.
Foley, being the mover of the motion, was also allowed the right of reply following the arguments against the motion.
“If your opportunities are stained by the blood of Palestinians, then those opportunities are rotten,” she said. “We need to boycott, we need to protest, but the most important thing you can do is be here and vote ‘yes’.”
At the conclusion of her speech, Foley was met with cheers of “Free Palestine!” from the crowd, who were then asked to vote on the motion.
Ultimately, there were 576 votes for the motion, and 70 votes against – meaning the motion was passed.
The ‘Students for Palestine QUT’ group were more than pleased with the result.
“We’re really happy about the turn out last night. QUT is often spoken about as a less political, less active university campus. Last night proved that QUT students take left-wing questions like Palestine seriously and was an important step to bringing politics and activism back to campus,” a spokesperson for the group said.
This successful SGM followed the example of the University of Queensland’s students, who also passed a motion to shut down the Boeing Centre on campus and divest from Israel last semester.
