Students protested a DU Law Society event that awarded Theresa May with the Praeses Elit award. The protesters blocked the entrance to the ticketed event and were joined by the Gardaí. Around 30 students gathered and many waved Irish and Palestinian flags and chanted “Theresa May has got to go”.
A member of the student protest told the University Times in a comment, “We the students of TCD are protesting today against the Lawsoc giving Theresa May an award for justice. Theresa May is complicit in war crimes internationally, she disregards the victims of Bloody Sunday, she is anti-immigrant notoriously, she showed great disregard for the victims of Grenfell towers.”
Another protester also stated, “The occupation of Ireland continues, you have the highest rate of femicide in the north in the six counties occupied by Britain, horrible living standards and poverty – that’s reality under occupation. That’s our reality, that’s the reality of our Irish brothers and sisters north of the border. A lot of people don’t like to think about that […] We’ve got no reparations for colonialism whatsoever yet Theresa May has the gall to come here and receive an award for her contributions to something like peace and workers. Absolutely ridiculous, it’s ludicrous , as students, as Irish people, as decent people, we should be here protesting.”
The protesters had crafted their own award for Theresa May, however, one of the organisers of the protest, Quinn Katz-Zogby, told the University Times, “She left the building, through the backdoor instead receiving our prestigious award which we took the care to design for her”. The mock-award in reference is the “The Margaret Thatcher Memorial Award for Excellence in the Field of British Imperialism”.
In a statement signed by Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union, TCD Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, Connolly Youth Movement Dublin Branch, and Students4Change say of their award made for May, “Throughout the long and storied histories of our two nations, few people have been so rewarded for achieving so little for workers, migrants, and queer people”.
The statement continues: “May has exceeded all expectations in offering her unwavering support to her nation’s kindred despotic monarchy in Saudi Arabia, aiding in their uncountable war crimes against the people of Yemen, including providing bombs to later be dropped on a school bus, killing 40 children and 11 adults.”
The statement also includes reference to May’s involvement with Israel, saying “May has also given plenty of support to the more mainstream, big name war criminals of Israel, throwing banquets in honour of Benjamin Netanyahu and honouring the legacy of Lord Balfour”.
The statement concludes, “Thank you to the Law Society for inviting this prestigious guest to further disgrace the student body and the legacies of countless heroes of Irish self-determination and anti-imperialism that have fought and died for this cause in our names. We will not stand by and let these lies be peddled in our names. We will not celebrate war criminals, imperialists, or enemies of the workers in this college. Shame on the Law Society. Shame on Theresa May. Shame on Trinity.”
The University Times has reached out to the Law Society for comment.
