Today (30 May 2024) Vice-Chancellor and President, Sasha Roseneil sent a message to all staff and students. You can read the message below:
Dear Colleagues,
No one can be unaffected by the devastating humanitarian catastrophe that has been taking place in Gaza over many months now. Many in our community have been deeply emotionally impacted by what we are witnessing in the media, with those with personal ties to the region particularly affected. But whilst grief at the suffering of the Palestinian people and the Israeli hostages and their loved ones might be a shared experience, there are a wide range of opinions about how to understand the current conflict, and how to address the underlying causes. This is to be expected in a diverse community such as ours, and in a university, where the tension between different perspectives and analyses is at the heart of our work.
Given this, and the intensity of feeling to which this conflict gives rise, we must always ensure that how we express our disagreements is consistent with our University values of inclusion and kindness. Sussex has a proud history of internationalism, and we are committed to living, learning, and working together across differences of background, belief, identity, nationality, and religion. Now, more than ever, we need to keep this front and centre in our minds.
Camp on Library Square
As at many other universities, there have been regular protests at Sussex about the current conflict and in support of the Palestinian people since October, and for the past two and half weeks, there has been a protest camp next to Library Square. Sussex has a foundational commitment to freedom of speech and expression, and so we respect students' right to engage in peaceful protest. We ask that students who are protesting do not cause disruption or disturbance to other students, do not interrupt the wider work of the University, and act respectfully and in a non-intimidating manner towards everyone on campus. We have been in communication with the camp to explore whether they wish to enter a dialogue with the University leadership, and we await a response. I will update the University community in due course.
Support for Palestinian students and academics
The University has long sought to support students from conflict zones around the world, and we offer a range of scholarships, including Sanctuary Scholarships, Saïd Foundation Scholarships for students from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, Higher Education Scholarship Palestine (HESPAL) scholarships, and Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) PhD scholarships. Last year, we were one of four UK universities that worked with the British Council on capacity-building workshops for Palestinian universities.
Given the destruction of the higher education infrastructure in Gaza both Professor Robin Banerjee, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global & Civic Engagement), and I have been exploring how we might expand our institutional support for Palestinian students, academics, and universities in a range of ways and, at the national level, we are involved in conversations with Universities UK and CARA on this subject.
A review of the University’s approach to socially responsible investment
As I have previously said, following discussion with representatives of the Students’ Union (USSU) and UCU, in light of the war in Israel-Gaza and community concern expressed through an Open Letter, I will be recommending to Council that we establish a group, which will include student and staff representatives, to review our existing Socially Responsible Investment Policy. This policy already states that we will not invest in arms and directs our investments towards the promotion of international co-operation and an end to international conflict, amongst a number of other important principles, but the intention is that this group will consider how our investment policy should be updated to ensure that the University’s approach to socially responsible investment fully reflects our University values and remains sector-leading. In the meantime, we continue to seek to ensure that our current investments fully adhere to our Socially Responsible Investment Policy.
Over the coming months I will keep the community updated on the planned review of our Socially Responsible Investment Policy, as well as how our plans to support Palestinian students and academics are developing.
In the meantime, as we approach the end of the summer term, I send you all my very best wishes,
Sasha Roseneil
Vice-Chancellor and President