Disrupting arms company recruitment

One way of kicking arms companies off your campus is to irritate and disrupt them so much that they give up coming!

Arms companies attend careers fairs and give presentations because it is in their interest to do so; it helps them to recruit the students they need to continue their devastating work.

Non-violent direct action (NVDA) aimed at disrupting stalls and presentations can be a really effective way to hinder arms company recruitment. For example, a recent die-in organised by Manchester students at a BAE workshop led to the event being cancelled. Take a look at CAAT’s position on NVDA when planning an action.

What can I do?

Careers events are an opportunity for some really creative action.

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. Read our ‘Disrupting Arms Company Recruitment‘ action guide for ideas and tips.

Planning a creative action

When you are planning an action, remember to think about who your audience is and what your aims are. Do you want to inform students about the arms trade, disrupt a stall, show your university how many students support your cause, get some good photos for an article in your student paper, or some or all of these and more? It’s important to be clear about your aims as these will affect what your protest looks like.

Below are a few images to get your creative juices flowing…

Mass rally	Informing students in the fair	Die-in
Clowning around	Banner drop	Candlelit vigil

Read about some exciting actions done by students in the past…

• Durham students run miniature ‘arms fair’ outside their careers fair.
• Sheffield stall hijackers take arms company information to prevent its distribution.
• Warwick’s grim reapers creatively challenge arms companies on campus.
• Engineering student ‘un-spins’ BAE presentation.

Know your rights: It is really important to know the risks of any action you take, both in relation to the law and to your place at university. Check out the Activists Legal Project briefing on protesting on campus.