A ban on oil and gas sponsorships for club and societies was formally approved by the Union’s political leadership this week despite a seven-page plea by engineers.
Undersigned by 12 engineering student groups at UCL, Engineering Society President Ashley Tsoi’s 2,200-word petition against the ban did little to stop the proposal from passing with 76% in favour at Union Executive on Monday evening.
The proposal, tabled by Non-Portfolio Societies Rep Seth Harris, argued affiliated societies should be barred from accepting funding from fossil fuel companies to ensure the Union would conduct itself in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The Union has previously implemented a similar ban on fossil fuel sponsorships for clubs and societies, but this became non-binding guidance when it lapsed in 2016.
Tsoi: Engineers an oppressed minority at Union
Tsoi described the ban as “oppression” of engineering students, alleging the proposal was part of a wider plot by “certain activist groups” to “ban banks and other institutions that trade in fossil fuels after this first step” – a claim that Harris described as “Project Fear”.
Harris maintained his proposal was solely to do with club and society sponsorships. He said he had not been in touch with any activist groups on this proposal and added as an engineering department alumni: “I have been involved with engineering societies; I know [the petition] doesn’t speak for all engineering students.”
The Engineering Society president also launched an attack on the Union, alleging it was “not sufficiently democratic” to impose such a ban as there were not enough engineers on the Union’s elected bodies. Even if it were, she said the ban would “grossly hinder student opportunities” as “sponsorships fall under freedom of speech”.
In response, Welfare and Community Officer Rachel Lim said: “I would challenge the [claim] that the Students’ Union isn’t representative and encourage them to use the structures that are in place.”
She said those who are dissatisfied with the outcome of the vote have the “freedom and ability” to submit a petition for a referendum to overturn the policy.
When International Officer Manaal Tariq defended Tsoi’s argument that engineers’ interests are not sufficiently represented within Union democratic structures, President Goksu Danaci said bluntly: “If you don’t nominate yourself for these leadership roles, then you don’t have a seat at the table. It’s democracy.”
In fact, Activities Officer Ana Boikova had conducted a consultation with 11 of the engineering groups that had signed the petition in the week before the meeting, where they had the chance to discuss with the Officer any problems they might face if the policy were to pass.
Policy ‘discriminatory’ against oil bankrolled internationals
Tsoi also claimed that the ban was “discriminatory” and “distinctively Western-centric”, arguing that many international students studying at UCL do so with funding from oil and gas companies, adding: “Not all countries have the privilege to move away from fossil fuels.”
But Union Sustainability Officer Alan Salazar Guerra said: “I think it’s important that we think of who are the most affected people by the climate crisis.”
The Sustainability Officer made a similar point during an impassioned and emotive address to the Education Zone last week when he asked voting members to consider which groups are most affected by climate change: “Whether it is someone chasing an internship… or the people genuinely dying over the climate crisis.”
He said where he came from in Mexico, his family faced persistent droughts over the past year and had restricted water access for weeks, which only resumed due to the flooding that followed.
Monday’s Union Executive also approved Salazar’s policy to back calls for UCL to end oil and gas recruitment on campus, but this was a separate policy and had nothing to do with Harris’s, to whom the engineers’ angry rant was directed.
Alleged ‘media misrepresentation’ by yours truly
Tsoi additionally accused journalists of misrepresentation, claiming “discussions on this issue have been taken out of context in external media sources i.e. UCL Cheesegrater magazine [sic], in ways that appear biased and fail to reflect the complexity of the concerns involved.”
The Cheese Grater has closely followed this policy since it was first discussed in the Activities Zone last November.
Responding to these claims, Media Rep and Cheese Grater co-editor Robert Delaney noted that The Cheese Grater (spelt like this) is a Union publication and encouraged anyone dissatisfied with the accuracy of its reporting to file a complaint, which will be assessed based on the Independent Press Standards Organisation Editors’ Code under new Union policy.
After a flurry of largely unfounded allegations, Tsoi asked the Union “as a last resort” to “protect the rights of engineering students against this oppression”.
She claims many have “dedicated their family’s life savings to [attend UCL] as they believed they would get opportunities to find employers within a campus that safeguards freedom of expression”, despite the policy having absolutely nothing to do with restricting students’ career options.
She added the Engineering Society may consider disaffiliating itself from the Union in light of the ban.
The Engineering Society did not respond to a request for comment.
