Photo Via defetnsenews.com

Sanad Hamdouna

Visual Arts Editor

On Wednesday February 10th, the Dawson Student Employment Office hosted its annual Job Fair, during which a range of companies and other employers set up booths around Conrod’s. 

Within the diverse array of job sectors represented, the inclusion of an arms manufacturing company stood out to many as unusual for Dawson.

The company in question, Pratt & Whitney, is an American company and a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, commonly known as Raytheon. RTX is the world’s second largest arms manufacturer, trumped only by Lockheed Martin, with 54% of its $80.8 billion in sales being within the military sector, according to its 2024 annual report. Pratt & Whitney, specifically, is responsible for developing, manufacturing, and maintaining engines and turbines for military aircrafts such as fighter jets, bombers, and surveillance aircrafts. These aircrafts include, among others, the American F-35s, F-22, and F-16, which have been famously used by militaries accused of war crimes, such as the Canadian and the United States’ militaries. Furthermore, these types of aircrafts have also been sold to governments or other countries accused of similar war crimes and crimes against humanity such as Saudi Arabia—who has been accused of serious war crimes in Yemen—and Israel—who is presently on trial at the ICJ for genocide against the Palestinians.

According to a report by Al Arabiya News on April 4th 2025, Israeli bombers destroyed a warehouse storing medical supplies belonging to the Saudi Center for Culture and Heritage in Gaza. On top of this destruction of civilian infrastructure, Israel’s renewed savage bombing campaign has killed at least 1249 Palestinians in the days between March 18th and April 5th 2025, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. The planes that Israel relies on to kill Palestinians in the thousands likely sport engines designed and manufactured by Pratt & Whitney.

Ever since the tragic 2006 shooting at the college, Dawson has held a firm commitment to peace and supported outspoken advocacy for nonviolence. It is the only cégep which hosts a garden dedicated to peace, a Peace Center committed to serving the community, and a popular certificate for the study of Peace. Yet, only a few weeks ago, an American arms manufacturing company was invited to openly recruit in the middle of our supposedly peace loving campus. 

In an interview with Diana Rice, manager of the Dawson College Peace Centre and published author of several writings about peace, The Plant inquired into how the inclusion of Pratt & Whitney in a job fair can coexist with Dawson’s values. In Rice’s personal opinion, “it’s not ideal and doesn’t necessarily match the values that we espouse broadly at the college. […] For example, the Dawson Foundation [has] very clear principles, none of their money, which is invested, can go into arms. Having Pratt & Whitney on campus complicates that, right? […] If it were up to me I probably wouldn’t invite companies like that.”

Yet Rice wasn’t entirely one note in her opinion: she acknowledged that arguments could be made in defence of Pratt & Whitney’s presence. “On the one hand someone could be like ‘oh but aerospace’ which is fair enough, that is part of their business model. They are not just arms manufacturers, but they are also arms manufacturers. I recognize that there are complicated relationships with things like that, but I don’t necessarily think that vibes with our overall values at the college. [Arms manufacturing is not] for the wellbeing of all, [it’s not] in the sphere of nonviolence or community building, which is something I think we should focus on more.”

Numerous students were also concerned with the presence of such a company, which prompted a wave of complaints to student services, host to the Student Employment Centre responsible for organizing the job fairs. Thanks to students who wish to remain anonymous, The Plant was given access to two of the emails in question, as well as their replies from student services. 

The first was short and to-the-point, allegedly copied by many students wanting to send a complaint. It highlighted the inclusion of Pratt & Whitney as “problematic because of their documented enablement of numerous human rights violations in Palestine and throughout the Middle East.” The email ended with an echoing of Rice’s position: “Weapons manufacturers have no place on Dawson campus, a place that promotes peace and inclusivity.”

In his reply, the director of Student Services started by acknowledging the students’ opinions, but argued that “not everyone has the privilege to evaluate the background of their prospective employer when looking for a job. Some people simply need to work, and large companies like Pratt and Whitney provide that opportunity to a large variety of our graduates”. This reply was received as a dismissal of the students’ ethical concerns and sparked additional outrage which partly inspired the second email that The Plant was given access to. 

This email was notably more personal, written by an engineering student who had not participated in the initial wave of complaints, but also disapproved of Pratt & Whitney’s presence on campus. 

In his letter, the student describes himself as a “student of conscience” and directly addresses the response other students received from Student Services: “I saw the response you wrote to my fellow students who did speak out, and I find your justification equally unacceptable. As an engineering student, I want to find a fulfilling career where my labour does not directly contribute to the murder of civilians abroad. You cite the fact that there are students who simply need jobs, but the most underprivileged students are also the ones whose families in the Global South are most likely to get murdered by the same planes for which Pratt & Whitney supplies the parts.” 

He continues by arguing that there’s no real need to inform students of Pratt & Whitney’s existence as an employer—the job fair’s stated goal—since it’s “not some small company that requires any extra advertising” and that students are free to seek out the company themselves and choose “to be complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people”, but that it’s not Dawson’s place to be facilitating that contact. 

Before concluding his email, the student reminded Student Services that in the 24 hours preceding the email, which was sent on the 18th of March 2025, “Israel murdered over 400 Palestinian civilians, with the help of weaponry, planes and components designed and built by companies such as Pratt & Whitney”. A fact which was corroborated by Amnesty International on the same day. 

He then restated that “it is immoral to have these companies on campus,” before urging Student Services to “truly think about how easy it is for the College to dismiss the safety concerns of Palestinian students and their allies. This is not a petty concern – Pratt & Whitney is a company that facilitates real and life-ending violence against students’ families.” 

A few days later, the director of Student Services sent his reply to this second email. Thanked the student for his feedback and stated that Student Services will take it into consideration ahead of the next Job Fair. 

A different representative of the Student Services Department confirmed this in an email exchange with The Plant, saying that they “are always open to feedback.”  The representative also clarified that, despite this controversial event, “Dawson’s commitment to peace and non-violence has not changed.” 

The voracity of these statements will be determined at the next job fair. 

Peace pole in the Dawson Peace Garden, May 2012.

Photo Via worldpeace.org