In a statement on Instagram today, Trinity Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) has suspended its call for a boycott of the Hist. The statement read “We do not recant our substantive criticisms of the Hist and College for allowing this series of events to have occured [sic]. However, we recognise that the demands of our previous statement exceed that which is permitted under our Terms of Reference, and for that purpose we must suspend our demands until further notice.”
Trinity BDS’s terms of reference mention implementing BDS compliance within the Students’ Union, supporting the global BDS movement and furthering its aims, and lobbying the college and government. No mention is made to student societies.
Trinity BDS originally called for a boycott of the Hist after the society hosted Hunter Biden with his father, former US President Joe Biden in attendance. A protest broke out during and after the event, which resulted in three arrests and condemnation from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, who said they were “extremely concerned” by the video footage of gardaí beating one of the protesters with a baton when he was already on the ground.
Trinity BDS’s original demands were communicated in an Instagram carousel. The slide with the demands has since been deleted (though, a slide reading “BOYCOTT THE HIST” still remains). The rescinded demands included a refund of Hist membership Fees, “We are launching a campaign demanding a full refund of membership fees for any student who paid to join The Hist and now wishes to leave”; an end to all Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU/AMLCT) collaborations with the Hist, “The Students’ Union must immediately sever all ties, funding, and collaborative events with The Hist. An organisation that provides a platform for ‘Genocide Joe’ cannot be allowed to operate with the legitimacy and resources of the SU”; and a boycott of the Hist, “We are officially calling on all Trinity students to boycott The Hist. We will be bringing a formal motion to SU Comhairle to ratify this boycott and ensure the society faces material consequences for its actions”.
Trinity BDS’s statement rescinding the demands continued, “Though, as students, we would hope that these recent events would prompt students to revise their affiliation with any organisation or society that acquiesces so easily to the presence and welcome of an individual like Joe Biden, as an organisation we recognise that the necessary channels for us to formally demand so have not yet been satisfied.”
“We have no difficulty acknowledging this error, but this should not be construed or conflated as comparable to the choices made by the College and the Hist to allow for, welcome or host a man has rightfully earned recognition for funding and enabling Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people. There is no amount of short notice or security logistics that alters the undisputable fact that Joe Biden is a war criminal and his administration supported the murder of thousands of people.”
Trinity BDS then took the opportunity to bring attention to the use of US intelligence in Israeli military operations and the US’s use of veto power in the UN to refuse Palestinian membership.
They then drew attention to the students from Palestine who were refused long-stay study visas. They finished, “It is imprudent, at best, that the College and Hist would have no regard for this ongoing injustice when welcoming Joe Biden and his security, and dumbfounding to treat non-violent student protest with graver concern than a man responsible for enabling a genocide.”
In correspondence with the University Times right before Trinity BDS rescinded their demands, the TCDSU/AMLCT Sabbatical Board said of the boycott that “Any item from TCD BDS’s demands, in order to be acted on by TCDSU/AMLCT must be brought to Comhairle and subject to the democratic process. As a result, no formal boycott of the Hist will be entered into until this process has been executed. Calls released by BDS, under the constitution of the Union, do not determine the actions of the SU unless they have been formalized through Comhairle or Union Forum. We would support more transparency and broader input into the guest selection process within the Hist, more consideration into the hurt caused to students by the attendance of Joe Biden, and a thorough reflection on the implications of large numbers of Gardaí on campus for these events. Students have a right not to be policed on their own campus and to use their right to protest. The decision of their fellow students to be photographed with, and welcome a war criminal is not something that students should be silent on. We believe no student should be targeted or harassed as a result of Tuesday’s events. Instead, the SU/AML will determine its actions through democracy in due course, and hope that the Hist will take the necessary steps so an event of this nature is not repeated.”
When asked about the particularities of suggestions from the SU on what the Hist should do to encourage broader student input on guests given they already allow any student to suggest a guest and what collective reflection on Gardaí presence from College and the Hist would look like, the Sabbatical Board said “Firstly, the goals of inviting a guest should be considered with the surrounding context of the guest. In this instance, the notification that Joe Biden would attend came to members of the committee with enough time in advance that they could have requested he not attend for the safety and comfort of students. The stated goal of inviting Hunter Biden as an addiction advocate is a cause that there are other individuals working for, and one that there are advocates for specifically in the Irish context. In the case of an award for public discourse, there is a choice in who to award this to and therefore their relevance to Trinity’s context should be a consideration.”
“The reflection on Gardaí presence on the college end requires a thorough investigation into the exact events that transpired, including the level of force used against protestors. On the Hist’s end, this is the question of ways that events can escalate when an increased Garda presence is requested.”
Furthermore, when asked about clearly communicating material demands, which was a cornerstone of TCDSU/AMLCT President Amy Kennedy’s campaign, the Sabbatical Board said, “I stand by my belief that clearly communicated goals of action are important, I have communicated this directly to BDS and I will advocate for this should it come to Comhairle, so that any stance taken by the SU/AML is clearly communicable to students.”
