{"id":53949,"title":"Glasgow Students Shut Down Defence Careers Fair","description":"When a defence careers fair quietly appeared on the University of Glasgow\u2019s calendar, it seemed designed to happen unnoticed. \n\nBut it didn\u2019t stay quiet for long. Within hours, students gathered in the Cloisters with signs, chants, and one clear message: universities shouldn\u2019t be hosting arms dealers.","content":"

When a defence careers fair quietly appeared on the University of Glasgow\u2019s calendar, it seemed designed to happen unnoticed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

A select group of physics and other STEM students received an email invitation to hear from \u201cmajor employers from the defence sector,\u201d promising advice on entering technology, engineering, and other roles within the arms industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

No fanfare or open promotion was made on the University\u2019s main careers platforms regarding this. But it didn\u2019t stay quiet for long. Within hours, students shared the email with Glasgow University Stop the War and the Divestment Coalition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

On 23 October, which was the event day, around 30 students gathered in the Cloisters with signs, chants, and one clear message: universities shouldn\u2019t be hosting arms dealers.<\/span><\/p>

Half an hour into the rally, the event was cancelled. Companies had taken \u201cindependent decisions not to attend,\u201d the University said. A quietly arranged careers panel had become a public show of student power.<\/span><\/p>

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What Really Happened at Glasgow University?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>

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The scheduled session, labelled \u201cCareers in the Defence Sector,\u201d was due to be held in the Senate Room of the Main Building. The selective invite list suggested the organisers knew the event would ignite backlash if widely promoted.<\/span><\/p>

Students who received the email immediately recognised it as a recruitment effort by arms companies, framed as career development. Once news reached Stop the War and the Divestment Coalition, they mobilised students for a peaceful rally on the event day.<\/span><\/p>

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Email inviting select students to the defence careers fair<\/span><\/em><\/p>

Image source: <\/span><\/em>HillHead Review<\/u><\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>


These students gathered outside the venue, chanting, holding signs, and making their opposition impossible to ignore. University security was present but did not intervene. Minutes later, word spread that the event had been cancelled.<\/span><\/p>

A spokesperson for the Divestment Coalition said:<\/span><\/p>

\u201cWe could not stay silent when we learned that the University was inviting arms recruiters back onto campus for what appeared to be a quietly arranged defence careers panel. To show student opposition to the platforming of arms companies, we organised a rally in the Cloisters, close to where we understood the event would be taking place.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>

\u201cAfter around half an hour of chanting and speeches, we noticed very few people attempting to enter the building. We then received word that the careers event had been cancelled, and we dispersed.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>

This wasn\u2019t just a one-day win. It showed that student pressure works and that universities know just how controversial military recruitment on campus has become.<\/span><\/p>

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Why Students Are Pushing Back<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>

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Students in Glasgow (and across the UK) aren\u2019t opposing these events out of apathy or disruption. They\u2019re reacting to the deepening ties between universities and the defence sector, and the ethical concerns associated with it.<\/span><\/p>

Many young people are questioning why students oppose defence partnerships in the first place, and the answer is multilayered:<\/span><\/p>