On 4 June, members of the University’s Executive leadership team met with representatives of student groups to discuss their ‘Letter of demands to University of Bath for Palestine Solidarity’.
The Vice-Chancellor, on behalf of the University, acknowledged the devastating humanitarian impacts and suffering resulting from the Israel/Palestine conflict and said that those who have lost loved ones and those who are concerned about family members, friends or colleagues are very much at the forefront of our minds.
The University is deeply concerned about the ongoing, widescale conflict in Gaza and the impacts on its students and staff. We are committed to supporting those affected by the conflict and to ensuring that the University is a place where everyone in our community can feel safe.
A staff-student group has been set up including SU representation and this is currently taking the following actions:
We are actively exploring options for supporting student scholarships for those affected by the conflict, including Palestinian students and prospective students. We are having meetings with sector-wide organisations about existing schemes and how we might contribute. This is in addition to existing support mechanisms, for example through the University of Sanctuary initiatives.
We support the Council for At Risk Academics (CARA) and we are liaising with our contact about routes to assist at-risk academics.
Work is also starting on the development of an institutional policy to address support for victims of conflict, working collaboratively with relevant student representation and with University.
The University has committed to share information with the group on recent work to review investments and research ethics, to inform future conversations in these areas.
We are continuing to discuss ways to ensure that students most affected by the conflict in Gaza have access to the practical and wellbeing support available both now and in the coming academic year.
Further meetings of the group will continue over the coming months and we hope to communicate further on the outcomes.
Ongoing sources of advice and support are outlined on the University’s webpages.