Editor’s note: This story was updated Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. to reflect SJP’s knowledge of Simmonds’ presence at the fair.
On Oct. 8, Students for Justice in Palestine protested GlobalFoundries, RTX Corporation and the FBI’s involvement in the Fall Job and Internship Fair.
Their campaign, “Arms off Campus,” criticized the companies’ connections to or direct involvement with the Israel Defense Forces and ICE, SJP stated in an Oct. 3 Instagram post.
Student members of SJP, faculty and community members gathered outside of the Davis Center oval to picket the event from noon to 3 p.m., holding signs and Palestinian flags.
GlobalFoundries opted not to participate in the fair after Career Center staff notified all participating companies of the students’ plans to demonstrate, stated Career Center Director Sarah Heath in an Oct. 9 email to the Cynic.
“We had received word from admin that they would notify those companies that a protest was planned. I didn’t expect them to actually heed that,” said SJP Treasurer Willem Cornish.
While RTX was listed as a career fair attendee on the career fair website, they were not present at the event.
Simmonds Precision Products, a former RTX company, were in attendance. However, they were not listed as an attendee.
“GlobalFoundries was among several employers who opted not to participate in the fair. Simmonds Precision Products, Inc. (formerly part of the RTX Corporation*) was present, as was the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” stated Heath.
SJP is aware that Simmonds Precision, a former subsidiary of RTX, was present. They are further researching Simmonds and will continue to demand RTX be kept off campus, stated SJP spokesperson Joe Murphy in a comment to the Cynic.
The “Arms off Campus” campaign is also an attempt to modify UVM’s career fair policies in the future, including barring companies that manufacture weapons or otherwise support the destruction of Gaza, Cornish said.
“We were mainly coming after [GlobalFoundries and RTX] because we knew that they had the most direct [complicity in] the genocide,” Cornish said.
SJP also targeted the FBI for its connections with the IDF, as well as their ties to helping ICE’s surveillance efforts, Cornish said.
It is University policy not to discriminate against any employer that plans to recruit on campus, so long as they offer legitimate employment, experiential learning opportunities, abide by UVM’s recruiting guidelines and adhere to the National Association of Colleges and Employers principles for ethical professional practice, said Adam White, executive director of university communications, reiterating a Sept. 26 email from Heath.
“We encourage every student to research prospective employers to ensure alignment with their personal and professional goals,” Heath said.
Cornish suggested that UVM should further take into account students’ voices.
“We pay the bills around here,” he said. “We’re the students, we should have our voice heard and respected.”
The next Career Center career fair, the Engineering and Tech Fair, is scheduled for Nov. 6.
