Saïd slammed by Student Union
The Student Union will no longer host events in the Saïd Business School, after a motion condemning how it was funded was passed at last Friday's OUSU Council.
The initial motion additionally proposed handing out flyers to anyone attending events unavoidably scheduled for the building, including the forthcoming RAG conference. An amendment striking out this clause was narrowly passed by 19 votes to 17.
A Saudi billionaire, who some claim has connections to the arms trade, was the main benefactor for the Saïd Business School. Wafic Saïd, who is alleged to have been a key broker in the Al-Yamamah arms deal, donated £20 million to the building of the Business School.
Students strongly protested against the construction of the Saïd Business School in the 1990s; a petition of 10,000 signatures was collected, with protesters contending that the site was built with 'blood money'. However, Mr Saïd has repeatedly denied being an arms dealer.
This has been the first time that official OUSU policy has been set on holding events in the Saïd Business School. Matthew Sellwood, a New College student who proposed the motion, told The Oxford Student this was because: "I had assumed that people involved with OUSU would see such a ban on organising events in the Saïd Business School as self-evident.
"It was only when I heard about the RAG Conference being held there that I and others saw the need for an actual motion."
OUSU President John Blake said that the fact this motion has been passed shows: "The University cannot just sweep under the carpet its actions in ignoring the views of the local community and of its own members; it's a reminder that this is not the way an organization with the influence and reputation of Oxford ought to behave."
A University spokesperson said that Mr Saïd has repeatedly stated that he is not, and never has been, an arms dealer. The University has policy that any donation over £100,000 must be approved by a committee of senior members of the University before it is accepted.
A spokeswoman for the Business School told The Oxford Student she regretted OUSU's decision, but that she saw it "as more of a judgement on University policy than on the Saïd Buisness School itself."
18th Nov 2004