Activist demonstrations rock graduation ceremony again
Three graduands displayed banners condemning the alleged involvement of Imperial in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza during the graduation ceremony of Commemoration Day, on Wednesday 8th October.
In three separate incidents, the activists took out messages concealed in their robes onstage, and were swiftly forced off the graduation stage by security officers. The first demonstration occurred during the ceremony for the Faculty of Medicine, and the two that followed occurred during the ceremony for the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
Commemoration Day is Imperial’s main undergraduate graduation ceremony, held at the Royal Albert Hall each Autumn. The Terms & Conditions for this year’s event forbid acts that “might reasonably be considered: (i) to be obscene or inappropriate in the circumstances; or (ii) likely to damage or otherwise negatively affect the reputation of the University; or (iii) likely to disturb the proceeding of a Graduation Ceremony.”
The document specifically prohibits “flags (regardless of the size of the flag and also including items with flags on them such as: scarves, t-shirts or any other clothing)” and “any other items that might potentially be used to disrupt the ceremony” in the Royal Albert Hall.
As they prepared to walk along the stage, the first graduand unfolded and held out a banner that read “£60m in genocide, invest in healthcare not warfare.” A security officer clasped the graduand and led them offstage, whilst another snatched the banner away.
Later in the afternoon, the second activist unfolded a banner stating “Imperial funds genocide” before being escorted out.
In a statement to Felix, they later said, “I believe it’s vital that the wider Imperial community is made aware of our institution’s complicity in the ongoing genocide in Palestine. If we want to see real change, we need to put pressure on Imperial’s leadership, and one way to do that is by challenging their public image.”
According to eyewitnesses, the third graduand crouched down after a security officer tried to grab the banner they were attempting to unfurl, and was eventually carried away by multiple officers. The banner read “Where is the humanity?” and featured a Palestinian flag.
The YouTube livestream of the ceremony, which showed footage of the stage for most of the ceremony, cut to another camera showing the seated assembly in the hall each time a demonstration started. Students can be heard cheering during the first two incidents, while the sound was cut the third time.
“I earned the right to be in that hall,” the activist from the Faculty of Medicine told Felix after the event. “I earned the right to walk across the stage, and the fact of the matter is that Palestinian students do not have the same right.”
The now-graduate, who is affiliated with the Imperial society Friends of Palestine, said that the encampments, hunger strikes and complaints “proved completely ineffective” in lobbying the College to divest from companies involved with Gaza war, compelling them to resort to such acts. “It was really aggressive and quite painful,” they recalled of being dragged out.
Similar demonstrations had occurred earlier this summer. On 3rd June, an Imperial graduate was removed from the 2025 Graduation Day ceremony after displaying a sign stating “Imperial funds genocide”.
Divestment from companies linked to the state of Israel – which has been found to be committing genocide in Gaza by the International Association of Genocide Scholars, a United Nations special commission, and multiple independent observers – was a major demand of students behind the Palestine encampments organised since May 2024.
An open letter directed to the College President published in March by the Imperial branch of the UCU trade union, states: “It has been noted that Imperial College has both direct and indirect holdings in companies involved in supplying the Israeli military. Evidence suggest that direct holdings account for approximately 26% of the total value of all direct investments, spanning 17 companies.”
“Furthermore, information obtained through a Freedom of Information request indicates that Imperial College has received research funding totalling over £7 million [sic] over the past five years from companies such as BAE Systems, Caterpillar, and Rolls Royce – organisations which have been reported to supply arms and military equipment to Israel.”
The latest financial report from the College Endowment, the body that controls Imperial’s investment portfolio, did not show any direct holding in weapons manufacturers or defence companies.
