Have your say from 8:30pm 19.3.24 - 11am 22.3.24. Vote now
Have your say on whether your Students’ Union should lobby the University to support Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions.
From 8:30pm on Tuesday 19th March – 11am Friday 22nd March, we will be holding a referendum to ask University of Liverpool students whether the Guild should lobby the University to support Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions through boycotting the following 5 companies:
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Amazon (Project Nimbus)
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Hewlett Packard (HP)
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Jaguar Land Rover
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BAE Systems
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Agusta Westland
This proposal comes from a student submission to our Change It platform, which focuses on the University’s relationship with the above 5 companies, who have ties to Israel. It proposes that the Guild “pressures the University to endorse the Boycott, Divestment Sanctions (BDS movement)”.
You can read the Change It idea in full here.
This idea was then discussed at Guild Summit, our student led decision-making body, on the 27th February. At that meeting, Summit attendees could not reach consensus on the matter, and so it is now going to a cross-campus ballot. Ideas that divide opinion at Guild Summit are put to a campus-wide ballot to enable all students to express their views on the matter.
We will now be asking you to have your say on this topic. All Full Members of the Guild will be able to vote, by selecting one of the following options:
Should the Guild adopt the proposal “Oppose Israeli Crimes through Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)”?
- Yes
- No
How to vote:
- Click here when voting opens at 8.30pm on Tuesday 19th March
- Log into the Guild website and entering your university username and password
- On the Ballot, click the green vote now button
- Have your say before 11am on Friday 22nd March
Here at the Guild we understand that debates surrounding this topic can be challenging, and we are considerate of the impact that this may have on the student community. We would encourage students to ensure that any conversations surrounding this referendum are mindful of the opinions, perspectives and personal experiences of others. There may be students within our community who have friends and family involved in the ongoing situations, or those who view Israel and Palestine or aspects of their faith as a key part of their identity, and reflect on their own sense of struggle or oppression, and who see the University as a place of safety in troubling times.
The Guild are here to support all students throughout this process. If at any point during these conversations you would like to reach out for support, there are a number of services available:
If you have any questions about this referendum, or concerns about conduct during it, please do get in touch with democracy@liverpool.ac.uk