Students at the University of Glasgow have protested against the appointment of a new vice-chancellor.
A group gathered on Library Hill on Friday 24th September after Professor Andy Schofield was announced as the new principal and vice-chancellor of the university.
The demonstration was organised by the Glasgow University Justice for Palestine Society (GUJPS), which criticised the university’s decision to appoint Schofield, alleging that he “shamelessly plays puppet for the Zionist entity” and “invited external security firms on campus” during his previous tenure at Lancaster University.
Schofield, formerly vice-chancellor at the University of Lancaster and pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Birmingham, officially began his role at Glasgow on Wednesday 1st October. His appointment follows the resignation of Sir Anton Muscatelli, who stepped down in April after 16 years at the helm.
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(@siqgla)In a statement on Instagram, GUJPS accused Schofield of “suspending a student activist and beginning a police investigation” against pro-Palestine campaigners at Lancaster.
The group also condemned what it described as the “securisation” of campus spaces, including discussions around mask bans at protests and tighter security measures.
During the protest, GUJPS promoted its new anonymous student publication, The Gaza Guardian, which it describes as a platform to “politically educate the masses on campus” and “hold the university accountable for the part it is playing in the imperialist missions of the British state and in the Palestinian Holocaust.”
The demonstrations are the latest in a series of pro-Palestine actions by the group this year. In March, members of GUJPS staged a hunger strike calling on the university to divest from Israeli companies and to ensure there were no disciplinary consequences for student activists.
Featured image via @sigqla on Instagram and Canva
The University of Glasgow did not respond to a request for comment.
