Open letter on the University of Cambridge's application for an injunction to prevent protests for Palestine at Senate House and other administrative buildings
An urgent appeal from members of the University community
Open letter to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
Dear Vice-Chancellor,
We are writing to express our grave concern over the University’s application to the High Court for an injunction aiming to prevent “trespassing” at Old Schools, Senate House, Senate House Lawn and Greenwich House through a court order threatening members of the University community and others with imprisonment, fines or the seizure of their assets for taking part in protests or direct action related to “the Palestine-Israel conflict” either on this land, or on the street outside.
We note that the application to the court is made in the name of the “Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge” and wish to state publicly and clearly that you are not acting in our name in preparing such an assault on freedom of expression. Rather, this injunction runs contrary to the collective rights and interests of the University community as a whole to debate, assemble and protest in order to hold those in authority to account.
In addition, the creation of special repressive powers targeted at protests related to the “Palestine-Israel conflict” is inherently discriminatory and unfair, and will disproportionately affect Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students and staff. The fact that you are seeking an injunction which will be in force until 2030, two years after current first year undergraduates have completed their degrees, threatens the rights of future cohorts of students to act in accordance with their beliefs.
We wish to remind you that the demands raised by students in solidarity with the Palestinian people have wide support from members of the University community. These include thousands of staff, students and alumni who have signed public statements in support of the demands of the encampment for Palestine and hundreds who have regularly taken part in protests in these exact locations as part of an ongoing campaign calling on the University to divest from companies and institutions complicit in violations of international law and crimes against humanity in Gaza and elsewhere.
Yet under the terms of the injunction as drafted by your administrators, the presence of even a small gathering outside Old Schools or Senate House in order to hand in a petition might be considered in breach of the court order if it “slowed down” access to the land in question. If a graduating student decided to hold up a Palestinian flag or revealed a placard during a Degree Congregation they could be sent to jail or face the seizure of their assets.
This kind of authoritarian reflex has no place in the governance of a University, which by its nature must be a space where dissenting opinions can be expressed without fear of heavy-handed repression. The freedom to question the decisions of the powerful and challenge injustice is an essential component of academic freedom - without it, the Congregations you claim to be protecting from “disruption” and “trespassers” risk becoming a meaningless charade.
We call on you to withdraw this injunction and reaffirm the University’s commitment to protect the freedom of speech and assembly of its members.
Add your name to this open letter here
As of 5pm, Monday 24 February, the letter had been signed by nearly 900 people including:
171 current members of staff within the Collegiate University
402 current students
200 alumni
Notes and background information: The University's submission to the High Court has been published here and is due to be heard on 27 February 2025.
This open letter has been drafted by current members of Regent House and students. An initial set of signatures will be sent to the Vice Chancellor's office at Old Schools at 4pm on Tuesday 25 February.
Names of staff who opted to make their signatures public will be posted here after the letter has been sent to the Vice Chancellor’s office. Individual student signatories will not be named in the published version of this statement, members of staff and alumni may choose whether to make their names public.