Face up to reality
The University of York is not yet ready to admit its business partners behave unethically. This paper is. The government of Saudi Arabia is a deeply repressive regime and these companies irrefutably provide the tools of that repression. It may sound sound like doughy student rhetoric but unless Heslington Hall is prepared to endorse the House of Saud then it must face up to the reality that the companies with which it deals so closely are playing an intimate role in tyranny.
That is not to say that the University should have no dealings whatsoever with them, but it is impossible to have a frank discussion about the ethics of the situation until it is prepared to admit this. The morality of weapons research is an issue for another time. It is not currently happening at York and there are more immediate issues to address, the most important of which is the sway that these arms companies have over very senior levels of York’s administration.
For all the University’s protestations, £7.7m pounds will buy you an excellent seat at the table and the undivided attention of some of its most most important decision makers. Indeed, on its website the Computer Science Department brags of the strength of its relationship with the industry and in some ways this is undeniably beneficial to students. The opportunities in research and development can be exciting and worthwhile. But in other respects it is extremely frightening. There is no denying that as universities jostle for lucrative research contracts there will be moments when a sturdy ethical policy will seem like a hindrance. It’s a slippery slope and one we can’t afford to let our mercenary business partners drag us down.
