Dozens of students gathered to protest the inclusion of Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and other defense contractors at the University of Maryland’s STEM and engineering career fair on Thursday.
The protest, organized by UMD’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter, was at the Engineering Fields across from The Hotel, where the career fair was held. SJP called for the university to cut ties with “genocide profiteers,” the wrote on socal media. Several protesters entered the fair to distribute pamphlets discouraging participation with some of the companies.
Robin Interrante, a freshman letters and science major, handed out flyers to students inside of the fair because she was tired of the university’s inaction surrounding the issue of the atrocities in Gaza, she said.
“I don’t want our school’s funding to go into that or to be how our school is represented, and I don’t want to be in any way associated with the genocide going on,” said Interrante. “It’s important to stop them from recruiting any more people.”
Interrante said most of the career fair attendees were receptive to the information on the flyers.
Annie O’Connell, a UMD alumni, attended the protest but did not go inside the fair.
“It’s really important that the University of Maryland drop its collaboration with companies that are known to be tools of US colonization,” said O’Connell. “These companies are creating things that kill people in other countries to advance all sorts of different agendas.”
A 2019 Amnesty International investigation found that weapons manufactured by Lockheed Martin were utilized in the commission of war crimes. Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s largest weapons manufacturers, supplies Israel with fighter jets used by Israel, which several human rights organizations, including a UN independent commission, found guilty of committing genocide in Gaza.
“The university should be instead investing its time, energy, and collaboration with tech companies that are working for positive solutions,” said O’Connell.
Katie Lawson, a spokesperson for UMD, stated that the university’s Career Services team are available to support students in, “making informed decisions as they navigate their career paths.”
“The Career and Internship Fair is designed to connect students with employment opportunities across industries and sectors. We adhere to [the National Association of Colleges and Employers’] (NACE) principles for ethical professional practice and expect employers who recruit with us to do the same,” wrote Lawson in a response to Al-Hikmah’s request for comment.
The NACE’s first principle for ethical professional practice states that everyone involved in the career development and employment process must: “Practice reasonable, responsible, and transparent behavior … that consciously avoids harmful actions by embodying high ethical standards.”
Lockheed Martin, along with Boeing, a company also present at the fair, have been accused of profiting off of genocide and other crimes against humanity by human rights organizations including Amnesty International.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who was present at the fair, has also engaged in numerous unethical acts, including profiling Muslims after the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to the American Civil Liberties Union
Reporting by The Diamondback revealed that UMD received more than $46 million from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman between 2010 to 2023.
The career fair will continue Friday, September 26 and Tuesday, September 30 and student protesters remain committed to educating their communities about the ethical ramifications of supporting these companies.
”The community is still here and does support the students in their efforts to free Palestine and to divest from war crimes,” said O’Connell.
Image credits: Cover photo by Bex Heimbrock/Al-Hikmah Staff.
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