A STUDENT who has been banned from the University of Glasgow campus after an anti-arms investment protest has said she is "angry" her education may suffer, as she blasted bosses for "ignoring student voices".
Hannah Taylor, 24, told The National she has been banned from the campus and cannot attend lectures or tutorials for her maths Masters degree after a protest headed up Youth Demand.
Taylor was one of two activists last month who used a fire extinguisher to spray the James McCune Smith Learning Hub in red paint.
The pair then glued themselves onto the front of the building. Both were arrested but have yet to be convicted of any crime, with court proceedings still ongoing.
The protest was held on the back of the university refusing to give in to previous demands to prohibit its endowment fund managers from investing in companies that earn more than 10% of their income from arms manufacturing.
Youth Demand claims that the university has £6.8 million worth of shareholdings in arms companies such as BAE systems and QinetiQ, and have also received around £600,000 in research funding from BAE systems and Rolls Royce since 2017.
QinetiQ, a supplier of military robotics, has been criticised for its active export of arms to Israel and involvement in the British Army Watchkeeper Programme which allegedly tested the drones on Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Taylor said while she has been told she will likely be allowed onto campus for exams, she is not allowed to attend lectures and is now concerned about doing well in her degree.
She has said the ban could remain in place until she finishes her course, as court proceedings could still go on for months.
Taylor told The National: "I’m disappointed and angry but I’m not surprised.
"They [the university] have consistently taken quite a draconian stance against any student protest in the past, even students that have protested in a way which I would say is completely mainstream and legitimised.
"They’ve been consistently very harsh and clamping down. They’ve been completely ignoring student voices."
A survey was sent out by the university to gather student and staff views on whether it should continue with its investment in companies that profit from arms manufacturing, to which 80% of respondents argued for divestment.
"I felt compelled [to act]. [I thought] they’re not going to listen to us when we go through their channels so I felt the need to express myself a bit more clearly.
"I didn’t want to block anyone from going into any buildings or attending any lectures. I just wanted to express to the management that I felt very strongly about them ignoring us."
In an email seen by The National, the university told Taylor that failure to adhere to the ban will constitute a breach of the student code of conduct and would be "treated accordingly".
She was told the "precautionary measure" will be reviewed on a monthly basis.
Taylor was not given a hearing in person or allowed to appeal the decision to ban her from the campus.
While it said it could not comment on individual students, a university spokesperson said: "The University of Glasgow upholds the right to freedom of expression, including the right of staff and students to engage in peaceful demonstrations.
"However, we do not tolerate unlawful activities which interfere with the rights of others to go about their business in peace.
"As an institution we stand against hate or harassment of any kind. We regularly communicate with all our staff and students about the need for tolerance towards each other, and we reiterate this call for all members of our community to be respectful to each other at all times."
