UK’s wealthiest college ‘regrets’ aiding Ukrainians – media

Professor Dame Sally Davies, the head of Cambridge’s Trinity College, has said it was a “mistake” for the institution to set up a relief fund for Ukrainians. Davies stated at a meeting on Friday that she “regretted” the “precedent” for conflict response the fund inadvertently set, according to Varsity, the university’s student newspaper.

Trinity, the UK’s wealthiest college, announced it would divest from any interests it had in Russian companies in 2022 as a result of the Ukraine conflict, and established a £250,000 ($335,000) relief fund to support students and scholars from Ukraine. However, after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October last year, Trinity failed to offer similar support to Palestinians, despite persistent demands from its students.

Activists have staged numerous protests across Cambridge campuses over the past year, demanding equal treatment for the two conflicts and calling on Trinity to divest from arms companies “complicit in Israel’s genocide” in Gaza. According to freedom of information requests cited by Varsity, Trinity has investments in multiple arms companies, including Israel-based Elbit Systems, which reportedly produces roughly 85% of the drones and land-based equipment used by the Israeli army.

The outlet reported that at the most recent meeting with Trinity’s undergraduate and postgraduate students’ unions, Davies said that the college had “no interest in divesting from arms companies” and that there was “consensus” on this matter among the college administration. When asked whether Trinity planned to introduce a relief fund for the war in Gaza similar to that for Ukraine, Davies allegedly said she “regretted” greenlighting the Ukraine support fund in the first place, as well as the fact that it inadvertently set a “precedent” for how the college was expected to respond to wars and humanitarian crises.

Davies’ statement runs counter to promises previously made by the college. Facing protests in July this year, Trinity said it would review its investments and set up a “student-led task force” to advise the college on arms policy.

According to media sources, students attending the meeting challenged Davies on the “double standards” of the college’s response to conflicts. Davies did not comment on the reports.

A spokesperson for Trinity later tried to downplay Davies’ alleged remarks, saying they “were part of a wider discussion” on conflict response. They noted that Trinity had established a number of support programs apart from the Ukrainian fund available for “students from conflict zones and areas of instability, including in the Middle East.”

Sources from the Trinity fellowship told Varsity the college may yet choose to divest from arms makers, as “many” in the administration “think it’s inappropriate for an educational institution to profit from investment in weapons.”

Pro-Palestinian activists have staged numerous protests across university and college campuses around the globe over the past year. Protesters have largely echoed the demands made by Trinity students, calling for an end to any business dealings with Israel and companies that support its war effort in Gaza.