Fossil Fooled
UCLU have effectively banned societies from receiving funding from fossil fuel companies, causing anger, confusion and an invasion of lawyers.
New Sustainability, Engagement and Operations saab, Zakariya Monhnran, along with Activities and Events Officer, Nick Edmonds, took the decision to reinterpret a year old motion compelling the union to support the Fossil Free UCL campaign. The result was a supposed blanket ban on societies receiving funding from fossil fuel companies.
Specifically the two saabs be- lieve the word ‘campus’ in “For the EEOO, ECO, and EEO to coor- dinate and put resources toward a high profile Fossil Free campaign around fossil fuel divestment on campus” to include all affiliated so- cieties.
Last year’s sabbatical officer however, did not view the support of Fossil Free in this way. And yet, this year’s new interpretation has not been communicated effectively. Women in Finance were shocked to see their BP sponsorship blocked, after previously having no problems and not hearing anything to the contrary. Monhnran also initially rejected Energy Society’s £1000 worth of funding from EcoFuel.
Regardless, it seems this new in- terpretation is up for negotiation. Energy Society hired lawyers to argue that Ecofuel merely stores oil rather than physically being in- volved in the act of drilling for it, and have now been allowed their funding. Woman in Finance were also allowed their funding from BP on a “one off basis.”
The motion to continue support- ing Fossil Free was up for renewal at ast month’s council meeting. The motion however was withdrawn by Fossil Free. This left members En- ergy Society furious as they would not be able to argue for a rewording of the motion.
Fossil Free themselves are uneasy with the Union’s reading of the mo- tion. Wary of causing conflicts with fellow students, Stacy Coomber an organiser for Fossil Free explained that they had withdrawn the mo- tion “so that we can discuss it prop- erly within the Fossil Free campaign before the next Union meeting.”
UCL imposes will on union
The recent controversy over the protests against the appearance of Hen Mazzig, an ‘educational activ- ist’ has shed new light on the sub- dom relationship between UCL and the Union.
UCLU claimed that Friends of Israel, who organised the talk, left the risk assessment section of the external speaker form blank, taking issue with the society’s failure to dis- close the violence that surrounded Mazzig’s last talk in London, tak- ing place at Kings College in 2014. Protesters claim that Mazzig was an officer in an organisation responsi- ble for the ‘day to day management of the military occupation, includ- ing demolition of Palestinian homes, forced displacement, restrictions of movement’.
Whether it was simply a paper- work issue, or the event was deemed too much of a risk, UCLU decided it should not take place. In attempts to get the event reinstated, the Friends of Israel Society brought in lawyers and addressed the Provost directly. A Sabbatical Officer has told The Cheese Grater that man- agement then became involved, ask- ing the Union why Mazzig had been ‘no platformed’. However, UCLU are adamant that Mazzig had never been ‘no platformed’. Although management did send an email to the CEO of UCLU, Nick Edmonds, the Union’s Activities and Events Officer stated that ultimately ‘the decision was ours’. Hen Mazzig has now launched a tour of Uk campuses on the back of the publicity generated from these recent events. Grab your tickets be- fore its too late!