The Right to Protest and not be Expelled: QUB Dismisses Investigation Against Palestine Assembly Protestor

By Katie McShane

Queen’s comes under scrutiny once again for its responses to Palestine Action protests and ties to Israel. An investigation has recently been dropped against Queens student Saoirse Wagner for her involvement in a protest against Israeli ties at a careers fair.  

A statement from QUB Palestine Assembly on November 28^th reads; “Last month, our Secretary, Saoirse, was informed that she was the subject of a serious misconduct investigation on the part of the university. She was told that, among other charges, she had engaged in behaviour which “brought the universities name into disrepute” including “harassing, bullying, threatening, or intimidating behaviour” during a protest at a careers fair”. 

…the punishment for which I am told is expulsion. Begging the question as to why this revelation only came in October, eight months on from the initial event.  

The careers fair protest in question occurred on the 5^th of February 2025 in Whitla hall. It was a joint demonstration between Queens Palestine Assembly and the BDS movement. BDS – standing for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. They are a Palestinian-led movement that stands for equality for Palestinians and is fighting to bring action against the Israeli government. According to the BDS Instagram account this event had many companies on their ‘boycott’ list present, to name a few: Coca Cola, Seagate, and Collins Aerospace; all of which have economic or manufacturing ties to Israel. The fair was halted due to protesting with very little pushback – showing the power in peaceful protest.  

This runs on from November 2024, when a major protest was staged outside of Queens against Hilary Clinton’s presence at the Global Innovation Summit held from the 12^th to the 14^th of November. At which three protesters were arrested, including Wagner.

Queen’s did not comment on the careers fair protest, but a spokesperson told the telegraph that “no stu­dent has been expelled in rela­tion to any protest activ­ity regard­ing Palestine, and any sug­ges­tion oth­er­wise is false” in an article published in November [1] . QUB Palestine Assembly, however, was also able to tell me that their chair Ethan, has already been expelled for “technicalities around his deferral of an exam and personal circumstances” which the group believes to be an exploitation on the university’s behalf. 

I have recently been informed that as of the 10^th of December, this investigation has been dismissed, and Saoirse is no longer at risk of expulsion. A victory for the Palestine Assembly group who consider Queens actions against Ethan and Saoirse “a major attack against free speech and the right to protest on campus.” This leaves a very important questions to be asked – how freely can we express our opinions upon the Queen’s campus and are we endangering ourselves to do so? What is the cost of protest? Would you bargain your education? Should that even be a price to pay.  

References

[1] Tunney, Liam. 2025. “Student Facing Disciplinary Hearing over Pro-Palestine Protest Accuses QUB of Stifling Free Speech.” Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. November 20, 2025. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/student-facing-disciplinary-hearing-over-pro-palestine-protest-accuses-qub-of-stifling-free-speech/a999844982.html. 

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