Queens’ for Palestine (Q4P) have staged a second sit-in, urging the College to divest from arms companies.

The hour-long protest took place in Queens’ College’s Cripps Court at 1pm yesterday (22/11). Beginning with only the two organisers, the demonstration grew to include 19 students.

The sit-in follows a similar protest two weeks earlier in the College’s Cloister Court. Q4P said the repeated action was designed “to sustain pressure on Queens’ College to commit to arms divestment, and raise awareness about their continued complicity in genocide”.

One protester stressed the importance of “maintaining our momentum, maintaining our pressure on the College,” following the passing of a JCR referendum on creating a working group on arms divestment with student representation on November 12.

The protester explained that the referendum “was triggered by a quorum vote within the JCR committee” after they spoke to Q4P about their concerns that the College’s present working group did not include students.

153 out of 179 voters in the referendum supported the motion, with 21 voting “no” and 5 leaving their ballots blank. However, the vote has no binding effect on the College.

The protester said they were unable to comment on the College’s response to the referendum while discussions were ongoing.

Student demonstrators chatted to one another as they waved Palestinian flags and displayed banners reading “Queens’ 4 Palestine,” “273k in Genocide” (the number of pounds they say the College has invested in arms), and “Divest Now!”.

Responding to Q4P’s claim at the last sit-in that the College “has blood on its hands,” a Queens’ spokesperson said:

“The College’s top priority remains to continue to support all our students, staff and Fellows. We vehemently reject the claim that Queens’ College has ‘blood on its hands’ through its existing investments.

“The College takes its responsibility on investments seriously. We regularly assess all investments – whether direct, via appointed managers, or indirect (such as pooled funds and ETFs) – against agreed risk parameters and with due regard to environmental, social and governance issues.

“Queens’ College has always been, and will remain, committed to constructive dialogue with our student members and extensive support was offered to all members of the College for the duration of the protest.”

The sit-in came as the College’s postgraduate students were voting in an MCR referendum on whether to express public solidarity with Palestine, call for the College to divest from “complicit companies,” and support demands for the central university to do the same.

When polls closed at 10 pm that evening, the referendum had passed with 71 “yes” votes, 29 “no” votes, and 3 blanks.

The MCR vote follows a similar referendum initiated by Q4P and passed by Queens’ JCR (which represents undergraduate students) in June 2024. A Q4P spokesperson argued that it was important for the MCR to follow suit in order “to show that throughout the whole student body, the whole College community, there is a desire for divestment”.