‘Grim reaper’ protestors allegedly manhandled by security

Student protestors from Warwick People and Planet were allegedly manhandled by University security at the Engineering and Technology Careers Fair on Thursday 22 October, it has been made known to the Boar.

The students entered the careers fair in grim reaper costumes to protest against the practices carried out by some of the firms present, “in the name of political dissent”, as stated by Warwick People and Planet.

They particularly targeted arms manufacturers Rolls-Royce and oil and gas company Shell, stationing themselves at the companies’ stalls and informing students of the employers’ “more covert activities”.

After approximately 25 minutes of the protest however, the students were asked by security to leave the fair. When the students refused to move, they were removed by a security squad.

A video clip by Warwick People and Planet showed a grim reaper struggling with his arms locked behind and falling onto the ground. After getting up, they appeared to be forcibly dragged out of the fair by security workers.

A statement from Warwick People and Planet described the action: “The students were forcibly extracted from the building by a security squad, who exerted such force that one grim reaper was brought to the ground as security guards tried to shield their activities from onlookers filming the events.”

A blog post written by Sophie Monk, an English Literature postgraduate involved in the campaign, also wrote: “The way we were (literally) handled exposed some of the knee-jerk panic the University reacts with time and time again to any kind of statement against its blatant corporate agenda.

“In that sense, we owe the University our thanks. Thank you for vindicating our cause and strengthening our resolve to it. You cannot know the power you have released in us, but we’ll be happy to show you.”

Peter Dunn, spokesperson for the University, commented on the incident: “There was a protest by a small number of students at the careers fair in question. As in the past, that small group were allowed the time and opportunity to make their protest, and indeed were given more time to do so than on previous occasions before being asked to leave.

“A great many more students actually attended the event to seek advice on possible careers with the companies in question and the University also wanted to ensure that those students’ needs were met so, as usual, the protestors were asked to leave after being given an opportunity to make their protest.

“Sadly on this occasion the protestors refused to leave. They were then escorted from the venue by security using the minimum physical interaction required to achieve their departure so as to allow the great many other students present to engage with those companies as they wished.”

After being refused from the building, the protestors took to distributing fact sheets which compiled some of Warwick People and Planet’s research into the activities of the arms and oil industries – they noted, in particular, Shell’s notorious history in the Niger Delta.