Ban BAE

Ban BAE – kick arms companies off campus

Arms company recruitment is a crucial site for protest and one where real successes can be achieved. Arms companies need university graduates. Each year they spend money and resources on visiting universities and recruiting students just like you to design, build, market and sell the next generation of killing equipment. Every careers fair they attend or evening presentation they give is an opportunity to tell arms companies that they are not welcome on your campus. There is already a shortage of students wanting to work for arms companies: by taking action against arms companies on campus you will be directly affecting their ability to thrive as weapons producers.

When are arms companies coming to my University?

Look at our Google-map to find details of careers fairs with arms companies in attendance. If the Google-map doesn’t have any information for your university, look up your university’s Careers Service. Check their website, look through their literature and sign up for email alerts about future events. Keep an eye out especially for information aimed at engineering or physics students. Many of the recruitment fairs take place at the beginning of the academic year (in October/ November) so make sure you are ready to take action!

View BAN BAE: Counter-recruitment Tour 2011/2012 in a larger map

Take action:

• Protest: Protesting at a careers event where arms companies are trying to recruit graduates is an effective way of challenging the links between your university and the arms trade. This can take many forms, from giving out leaflets, to creative and theatrical protest, to direct action aimed at disrupting or ending an evening presentation. By protesting you can both inform students about the arms trade and show arms companies that they are not welcome on your campus. Read our Disrupting Arms Company Recruitment action guide for information on arms company recruitment and ideas on how to resist it.
• Pass a Student Union motion: By passing a ‘Ban BAE’ student motion you can mandate your Student Union to lobby your university to end its links with the arms trade. Visit our Resources page for an example Student Union motion and some advice about passing motions.

Resources

For our guide on disrupting a careers fair, sample letters, a petition, a press release, leaflets and more, visit our Resources page. Please email universities(at)caat·org·uk to request a creative workshop on planning protest at careers fairs or to ask any questions you may have.

Success stories

Protesting at careers fairs is a great way to challenge arms companies on campus. You can inform students about these companies’ real practices and show the arms companies that they are not welcome on your campus. Students have had a lot of success in the past in resisting arms companies on campuses across the UK –

• Die-in organised by Manchester students leads to event being cancelled. Read the story here.
• Sheffield stall hijackers take arms company information to prevent its distribution. Read the story here.
• Warwick’s grim reapers creatively challenge arms companies on campus. Read the story here.
• Engineering student ‘un-spins’ BAE presentation. Read the story here.

Remember to look at our Disrupting Arms Company Recruitment action guide for tips, legal advice and more case studies.