Universities, The Modern War Profiteer
WORDS BY TAHLIA DILBEROVIC.
It’s the early 1970s, and a jovial electricity fills the air. The Student Representative Council and the Vice Chancellor have gathered at the Flinders University Registry building. The portraits of Vice-Chancellors-past look down upon them, watching them. Someone barges into the room, rushing to the Student President’s side. The slam of the door is muffled by the carpeted floors, as the person leans down to whisper in the President’s ear. Ian Yates smiles sheepishly and pushes back his chair.
“Excuse me, Chancellor”, he interrupts, “I have to leave the room. They want me to sign another cheque for bail money”.
The Student Movement and Its Anti-War Tradition
The student movement in Australia has always been unwaveringly anti- war. When the former Australian Prime Minister, Robert Menzies declared in 1962 that Australia would join the Vietnam War, the student movement and student-led media were anything but supportive. While main-stream media in the 1960s and 1970s were essentially state-controlled and parroted the Government’s imperialist propaganda without a second thought, student media carved out a space for itself as a form of alternative media, working alongside socialist and communist organisations to disseminate information from both sides of the Vietnamese conflict.
While mainstream-media outlets became a key component in managing public resistance against the war, student media took every opportunity to undermine the government’s propaganda machine.
One of the key moments within this radical tradition was the publication of the ‘Wanted DOA’ feature by Lot’s Wife, Monash University’s student magazine. The feature comprised six politicians who were wanted ‘dead
or alive’, for their ‘crimes’. Prime Minister Harold Holt was among these politicians, wanted for the ‘the murder of kidnapped Australian minors, also for complicity in the torture and murder of North Vietnamese citizens.’
This spirit of resistance, and disgust, was also present on South Australian campuses. Adelaide University’s Student Representative Council was actively involved in the anti-war, anti- conscription movement, so much so that ASIO felt the need to deploy recruits onto the campus. Throughout the 60s and 70s, it was not uncommon for On Dit to report that council members had had their homes broken into and offices unlawfully searched.
Even our beloved Empire Times, born from this political moment, openly decried war, conscription and western imperialism. Empire Times would frequently call for its readers to dodge the draft, gave instructions on how to fail medical exams, provided resources on how to access safe houses and actively fought for a moratorium. Successive Editors held these convictions so strongly that they were often times arrested at anti-
war protests, alongside their fellow students. At the time, the Flinders’ University Student Council were more than willing to express solidarity with these actions and established a bail fund for protestors.
The inspiration for this collaborative edition that you hold in your hands right now originated from this era; when On Dit, Empire Times, and the South Australian Institute of Technology’s (now Uni SA) student magazine banded together to produce a weekly newspaper that was distributed across all campuses. Or
at least it was meant to be – it was often confiscated by the police before students could even read it.
This anti-war tradition within student- led organisations did not end with the Vietnam war, however. In the following decades, students would come together to rally against the expansion of US military bases, nuclear armament, the Gulf Wars, and inference in East Timor. It was this very spirit that was exemplified itself by the relatively mainstream ‘books not bombs’ campaign, a movement against the 2003 Iraq Invasion that popularised the slogan ‘when the bombs drop, school stops.’
However, in the years that have elapsed since 2003, in the wake of voluntary student unionism, increasing neoliberalism, and an ever-growing military industrial complex, this tradition has begun to fade. In the 21st century, while our own universities have found themselves in bed with world’s largest war profiteers, the voice of students has fallen silent.
Australian Universities: The Modern War Profiteer
A war profiteer is any person or organisation that profits from war, the selling of weapons, or the provision of other goods to parties engaged in war. It is not a term one would think would apply so readily to our not-for-profit educational institutes, but in the era of the degree factory any business is good business – and blood money is still money.
Christopher Pyne, Australia’s former Defence Minister, once boasted that South Australian universities have a stronger relationship with the defence industry than anywhere else in Australia – and he’s right. As of 2019, all three of the South Australian public universities were in partnership with the world’s most prolific war profiteers.
The universities may argue that these ties are merely research or education based, that they provide invaluable experience for their graduates, and that the technology they are developing is benign, but don’t be fooled by their marketing spin. Whether it is through direct funding or prestige, our universities are benefiting from their friendly relationships with warmongers. These partnerships are profitable for our universities, and that is their key motivator. They are placing profits over people.
But what are they profiting off of?
Simply put, death and destruction. But let’s take a deeper look. As of 2019, the world’s top five war profiteers were Lockheed Martin; Boeing; Raytheon; BAE Systems; and Northrop Grumman. Our universities are linked to each, and where they go, death follows.
Lockheed Martin
In 2019, Lockheed Martin made $44.9 billion in arms sales, resulting in a $2 billion profit. All three of the South Australian public universities have reported ties to this company, with the University of South Australia advertising this partnership to entice prospective students, while Flinders University is a recipient of research and development grants from Lockheed Martin.
Lockheed Martin’s arms sales have been linked to the bombing of a school bus in Yemen which resulted in the deaths of 26 children. They have also been linked to the missiles used against civilians in Saudi airstrikes. Lockheed Martin also supplies combat aircrafts to Israel that are routinely used against Palestinian civilians.
Boeing
Boeing made $26.9 billion in arms sales, and a $8.2 billion profit, in 2019. Both the University of Adelaide and Flinders University offer scholarships funded by Boeing, particularly in the area of robotics. These funds are partially the result of selling combat aircraft to the Saudi government that would later be used against civilians in Yemen. Likewise, Boeing also supplied combat aircraft to Israel that would go on to be used against Lebanon and Palestine. A notable incident of this was the Gaza massacre of 2008, in which approximately 1,000 Palestinians were killed. Boeing supplied missiles were also linked to the Israeli government’s attack on United Nations relief offices, hospitals and schools.
Raytheon
Raytheon made $23.9 billion in arms sales in 2019, resulting in a $2 billion profit. All three universities have received research funding from the conglomerate. Raytheon is also guilty of supplying the Saudi government with munitions that would be used in airstrikes against Yemen. They have also supplied war goods to the Israeli government that would later be used against Palestinian civilians, journalists, and medics in the West Bank. Also, a benefactor from the War on Terror, Raytheon, supplied several weapons systems to the United States and the Coalition against Afghanistan.
BAE Systems
In 2019, BAE Systems earned $22.9 billion in arms sales, resulting in a $1.1 billion profit. All three universities are financially tied to BAE Systems. The University of South Australia maintains a $4 million research and development partnership with BAE systems, while the University of Adelaide is embroiled in a collaborative project revolving around high frequency systems (which can be used for communication...or sonic weapons). Flinders University’s collaboration with BAE systems resulted in an entirely new Research and Development facility (the ‘Factory of the Future’), located at Tonsley. All three universities are also members of the Joint Open Innovation Network, headed by BAE Systems.
BAE Systems is perhaps best known for its complicity and involvement in Saudi war crimes, and the supplying of munitions used in indiscriminate bombing campaigns, which have resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians. BAE Systems has had a complaint filed against it with the International Criminal Court, for alleged involvement in war crimes.
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman made $22.4 billion in arms sales in 2019, and
a $2 billion profit. All three South Australian Universities are linked to this arms dealer. The University of South Australia and the Universityof Adelaide are both partners in the Cyber Resilience Centre, of which Northrop Grumman is a major player. The University of Adelaide also collaborates with Northrop Grumman in research.
The Vice Chancellor of Flinders University, Colin Stirling, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Northrop Grumman, with the University entering a collaborative research and training partnership with the arms conglomerate. Flinders University established the Northrop Grumman Scholarship in 2018, which is contingent on an on-going partnership.
Northrop Grumman has made its billions partly by supplying war goods to the Saudi and Israeli governments, which have then been used against civilians in Yemen and Palestine. In addition to this, Northrop Grumman’s subsidiary company, Vinnell Arabia, holds an exclusive training contract for the Saudi National Guard. The arms dealer also conducts joint weapons ventures with Israeli arms companies.
Silence from Stirling and Student Reps
In 2022, we can once again hear the drums of war in the distance; and the advent of social media means that we cannot turn away. Every war is now our war. At the same time, our educational institutions are complicit in the destruction and devastation caused by these companies; worse yet, they are profiting off it.
Flinders University’s Vice Chancellor, Colin Stirling, was contacted for right of reply for this piece but did not respond. Probably a wise choice for actions so indefensible. Sadly though, despite being contacted, the Student Presidents of Flinders University Student Association, the Adelaide University Student Representative Council, and the University of South Australia’s Student Association, all remained shamefully silent on this matter.
We need a strong student voice, media, and representation now more than ever. We need representatives that are willing to stand against the military industrial complex and re-packaged imperialism that our universities are revelling in and profiting off. Even if it means bringing back the bail fund.
EDITORIAL NOTE: This article has been reuploaded and was originally published in 2022.