Between 2012 and 2022, Sheffield University received a total of £72 million worth of research funding from firms such as Rolls-Royce, Boeing, BAE Systems, and GKN according to a freedom of information (FOI) request.
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The contrast could not have been more eloquent: the scene was immaculately set for the prestigious Educational Awards ceremony for staff and students at Sheffield University’s Firth Hall when a tide of realism entered the room and brought proceedings to a stand-still. With perfect timing, students, supported by community activists from Sheffield and neighbouring cities, entered in an irresistible tide and took their place on the stage, overlooking the packed hall.
Those present, from the Vice Chancellor to security staff were brought face to face with the truth about Genocide and Famine being inflicted on Gaza today: famine, slaughter and destruction in Gaza – lavish hospitality and celebration in Sheffield University, a university enriched by lucrative arms contracts.
And the students and supporters spelled out, with crystal clarity, the complicity of the University in war crimes and the demands of the Student Camp, inviting the Vice Chancellor to meet them. No reply!
Chants and speeches rang out across the audience; some of those attending applauded and, on invitation, a significant number came onto the stage to join the protesters, to great acclaim.
How did it end? The VC left – but after he had heard all the key speeches as did the rest of the participants.Firth Hall emptied: all that food abandoned; all the celebratory splendour overthrown and turned into a handful of dust – like the homes of thousands in Gaza, wiped out by weapons of war, parts of which are “Made in Sheffield University” – at least, for the time being.
