BODY:

Dear Ms Patricia Forsythe AM, Professor Alex Zelinsky AO, and Professor Simmons,

I am writing to express my strong objection to Lockheed Martin’s sponsorship of the University of Newcastle’s Science and Engineering Challenge. Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest weapons manufacturer, supplies weapons to Israel which is currently on trial in the International Court of Justice for the crime of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. International human rights experts have expressed that certain university partnerships may put them in breach of their legal and ethical obligations and universities around the world have begun to divest.

As we watch in horror at what Israel is doing to Palestinians with weapons supplied by Lockheed Martin, I cannot countenance that the University of Newcastle would continue to partner with a company so deeply involved. I am deeply disturbed that companies like Lockheed Martin, that make billions of dollars from human suffering and environmental destruction and have a record of committing numerous corporate crimes, have access to children in schools.

Through Lockheed Martin’s partnership with the University of Newcastle’s Science and Engineering Challenge, children as young as nine years are exposed to weapons manufacturers. Lockheed Martin seeks to appeal to children with the provision of branded merchandise such as drink bottles and backpacks, and the presentation of weaponry as exciting and adventure-filled. This practice of STEM-washing, which seeks to normalise weapons manufacturers and obfuscate the role they play in atrocities and war crimes around the world, is widely criticised by human rights, education, and child safety experts.

I also object to the grossly privileged access that Lockheed Martin has to the future STEM workforce and strongly advocate for partnerships with companies working in fields that affirm life such as renewable energy, health technology, housing innovation, and infrastructure. I consider the partnerships with these industries to be a replacement to weapons manufacturer partnerships, not an adjunct to them.

Currently, a student-led movement has ignited around the world with demands that tertiary institutions divest from companies and institutions involved in the massacre of Palestinians by Israel. Experts say this is one of the most important human rights and anti-war movements since the Vietnam War. This call for universities to disclose and divest has never been louder. As an institution of higher education, I also draw your attention to the ongoing scholasticide occurring in Gaza, with the complete destruction of all universities, and the murder of almost 100 professors and more than 5000 students.

I urge the University of Newcastle to heed this call and to take immediate steps to end Lockheed Martin’s sponsorship of the Science and Engineering Challenge.

Yours sincerely,

[your name]