On 24 June 2025, the University of Glasgow’s main building was painted red in a pro-Palestine demonstration, just one day before summer graduations start.Â
The demonstration was carried out “early in the morning”, a University staff member told the Glasgow Guardian and it is uncertain who is responsible for it. The Glasgow Guardian approached several members of University security, who declined to comment on the incident. When the Glasgow Guardian arrived at the scene at around 13:50, the majority of the red paint had been cleaned.
Glasgow University Justice for Palestine Society (GUJPS) broke the news at around 13:00 the same day, posting photos of the red-painted building on their Instagram page. They revealed that an anonymous source sent them the following message:
“Today, Glasgow University Court meets yet again without even discussing, let alone committing to divestment. After over 600 days of continuous genocide, forced mass starvation and the fear and terror inflicted daily on Palestinians, how dare the court sit comfortably in their offices and ignore the suffering that they are complicit in inflicting? […] their PROFITS ARE COVERED IN PALESTINIAN BLOOD.
Today also marks the eve of graduation season. When every University in Gaza has been obliterated by UK-manufactured weaponry, when over 12,000 Palestinian students have been slaughtered, when there are no graduates in Gaza, there can be NO BUSINESS AS USUAL.
This university prioritises the value of their property and ceremony, but this pales in comparison to the lives of the Palestinian, Lebanese, Iranian, Syrian and Yemeni people. We implore Glasgow University students to fight back against their fees funding genocide, with graduation being no exception.’”
The society had advertised on their Instagram page a rally taking place on 16th June 2025, which coincided with a University Court meeting. The demonstration featured calls to “divest now” written on the walls of the Old Building in red paint. Divestment from the arms industry is one of GUJPS’s four demands on the University, according to their most recent statement of demands.
At 13.55, around 20 demonstrators stood in the east quadrangle. At 14.00, around 10 more joined the demonstration. During The Glasgow Guardian’s reporting, a demonstrator attempted to force the entrance of a University building. As a woman attempted to exit the building, one demonstrator tried to push her aside and forcibly enter, however the woman resisted and closed the entrance. University Security did not physically intervene and the demonstrator returned to join the rest of their group, who moved to the west quadrangle, where the Court meeting was taking place.
The Glasgow Guardian noticed a heavy University security presence. At 14.30 the police arrived and spoke with two demonstrators, who were able to go back to their demonstration following their conversation with the police. The police patrolled the area, but did not intervene.
The Glasgow Guardian was present at the scene for over an hour. Two members of the public joined the demonstration.
The Glasgow Guardian approached the demonstrators and asked them how long they were planning to be there for. The first demonstrator was unsure, since they “were not the organizer”. The other stated that they would have been there until the court meeting finished. About whether they had been in communication with University’s Senior Management Group, the member said “Management has been radio silent”.
