Loughborough UCU Statement of Solidarity with Coalition of Loughborough Action for Palestine

In Oct 2024, Loughborough University UCU (LUCU) passed a motion in defence of students and staff speaking out in support of Palestine. We write this as a statement of solidarity with those in the University community who are speaking out, especially the Coalition of Loughborough Action for Palestine, an interdisciplinary student coalition made up of UG, PG, and PGR students across disciplines and both Loughborough campuses, with widespread staff support and links to national higher education activist organisations.

The war in Gaza, and continued violence in the West Bank has seen the physical destruction of every Gazan university, damage or destruction of around 90% of school buildings, arbitrary military detention and silencing of Palestinian academics, and the killing and wounding of academics, teachers and students. This is educide, the deliberate destruction of educational infrastructure, and epistemicide, the destruction of knowledge.  As a higher education union, we condemn this.  Loughborough University should as well.

Moreover, we stand for the protection of academic freedom and freedom of speech. Universities are legally bound to promote freedom of speech under their obligations through the Office for Students, even at the risk of causing offence. We believe it is important that both Loughborough University (LU) and Loughborough Students Union (LSU) allow student and staff protests and recognise the legitimate fears many have about revealing their identity, especially if they are not UK citizens. We also request that the University and LSU continue to facilitate ongoing discussions on the war, violence and occupation, as LUCU commits to doing as part of the motion passed. We are deeply concerned by multiple accounts of suppression by LU and LSU of pro-Palestinian sentiment, which we are prepared to discuss in more detail at a meeting, and we wish to have these investigated and addressed if substantiated.

Similarly, students should not be hindered in their right to boycott third parties, for example by being required, as part of their studies, to attend career fairs that include representatives from companies to which they object on political grounds. 

Since the Coalition is made up of members of the University community, we believe it should be considered a legitimate channel for student and staff concerns. To that end, we request that key members of the University Executive Board meet and engage with representatives of the Coalition, and LUCU are prepared to attend and support such engagement.