This year’s Welcome Address, a UofG tradition held in Bute Hall to mark the start of Freshers week, reinforced the University’s silence on Palestine and disregard of student opinion after QMU were asked to remove their Palestinian flag before featuring in this year’s photo of the four student bodies.
QMU President Lucy Stobie recounted: “On Monday we brought our Palestine flag to the Welcome Address. We’re raising money for Medical Aid for Palestinians as our chosen Freshers’ Week charity this year – we want to visibly show that the QMU don’t condone the genocide.”
“The UofG communications team wanted to organise a group photo of the unions after the address (at around 2pm in the quads around the cloisters) but when they saw our flag, one of the staff members asked us to put it away or we would be asked to leave. In solidarity, all QMU board members and freshers’ helpers left and refused to partake in the photo.”
After refusing to be in the photo without the Palestinian flag, QMU posted a photo with the flag on the UofG official Instagram account as part of their takeover and captioned it “We will not remain silent @uofglasgow”.
This comes after the University has ignored calls from multiple student bodies to divest in arms companies such as BAE systems. Protests led by GUJPS last academic year were met by intimidation from campus security and the University still refused to divest from arms companies, arguing that “this could be interpreted as a signal that the University was opposed to the existence of the UK defence sector and […] in recognition of the University’s ongoing research relationships with a range of firms active in this area.”
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), the QMU’s Freshers’ Week charity, provide immediate medical aid to Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees. In 2024, they provided healthcare and humanitarian aid to nearly one million people across Gaza by working directly on the ground with an extensive network of hospitals, medical centers and community organisations.
Out of the four student bodies at UofG – QMU, GUU, GUSA and SRC – the QMU is the only one vocalising support for Palestine. For incoming students who care about the issue, this surely sends a message about the place to be on campus.
Author: Stevie McCabe (he/him)
qmunicatemagazine.co.uk 