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The Guardian
43 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Witch hunt': two students expelled from University of Melbourne after pro-Palestine protest in academic's office
The Greens deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, has accused the University of Melbourne of a 'witch hunt' after the first formal expulsion of pro-Palestine student activists since waves of campus demonstrations began in 2023. On Monday, letters were sent from the university's vice-chancellor, Emma Johnston, to four students, informing two that they had been terminated and two that they were suspended until March next year after taking part in a pro-Palestine demonstration at an academic's office last October. The students were given 20 business days to lodge an appeal, however Johnston's decision, which upheld recommendations made by the university's student discipline committee, will remain in place until the process is completed. 'In the interest of maintaining good order and discipline, I direct you to only attend campus for the purpose of study or assessment … until your expulsion takes effect,' Johnston wrote in a letter seen by Guardian Australia. 'You were found to have engaged in improper conduct and in doing so breached sections of the vice-chancellor regulation, and the student conduct policy.' The students were referred to the disciplinary committee after reports they were part of a group of about 20 who, on 9 October 2024, occupied the office of an academic who oversees the university's joint PhD program with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The protesters were calling on the university to disband its joint programs with Israeli universities, which have been a target of the global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement since 2004. Faruqi, who is also the Greens' higher education spokesperson, said the university was on the 'wrong side of history'. 'Universities like the University of Melbourne should cease the disciplinary witch hunts on brave student activists and issue a public apology for the McCarthyist crackdown on staff and students speaking out for a free Palestine,' she said. 'From draconian anti-protest policies and police interventions to surveillance, suspensions and disciplinary actions, university management have used every trick in the book to stifle activism. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'Students and staff at universities have led the way in rallying against Israel's atrocities, and they continue to pay the price.' Johnston told Guardian Australia the university respected the rights of individuals to protest, reiterating 'this has not changed'. 'Universities are places where free and open debate must take place, but the safety of our students and staff must also be protected as this is integral to enabling free and open debate,' she said. 'It's our responsibility to respond to any actions that may intimidate or threaten the safety of students and staff on our campuses. These matters are taken seriously and addressed under the appropriate policy which may include disciplinary procedures.' Alex Ryvchin, the co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said there was a right to protest, but there was no right to target individuals and make them 'fearful for their safety'. 'The targeting … was dangerous and completely unacceptable and such behaviour has no place anywhere, let alone at a centre of education and the professor's workplace,' he said. 'The university was right to take decisive action.' Ryvchin said universities had allowed 'extreme elements' of the anti-Israel movement to develop on campuses in the past academic year which had subordinated the freedoms of the 'vast majority' of students and staff. 'It appears that most universities are determined not to allow this to happen again but the proof will be in their handling of incidents like this,' he said. Dr Elizabeth Strakosch, a member of the University of Melbourne's National Tertiary Education Union branch and a political science lecturer, said the union was 'deeply concerned' about the implication of the disciplinary proceedings on the wider community given widespread protest crackdowns across institutions. The University of Sydney's vice-chancellor, Mark Scott, on Monday confirmed staff and students would be banned from holding banners on campus without prior permission and staff would be unable to send political emails unless prior interest has been expressed, as part of five revised policies adopted by the institution. It followed a suite of rules against protests implemented at the University of Melbourne in March, including that they may not be held indoors and must not obstruct entries or exits of university buildings. 'We're definitely seeing an intensification of surveillance, a crackdown on dissent, and there's a widespread feeling amongst our membership that academic freedom is on the line,' Strakosch said. 'Sit-ins and protests are often disruptive. That's the way that they function. They're one of the most important tools that students and staff have for getting concerns that are not being registered on to the agenda. 'It's pretty clear that there is a change in atmosphere and temperature on campuses for both staff and students. If upheld, this will be the first [Australian] university to expel students over protests around Gaza, and that sets a really dangerous precedent for other universities.' Dr Jordana Silverstein, a cultural historian at the University of Melbourne, said it was 'frustrating' to see the university and vice-chancellor 'so severely discipline' the students for their actions. 'This is not about the occupation of an office,' she said. 'This is about what kind of university we want to study and work at and society we want to live in. These students are calling for the university to divest of its financial and political ties with genocide, an eminently reasonable request.' Prof Joo-Cheong Tham, a researcher at the University of Melbourne's law school and an assistant secretary at the National Tertiary Education Union, said disciplinary proceedings should only be taken in 'the gravest of situations' given the 'profound consequences it has on the student's life and career'. He said proportionate regulation of protests was justified, but workplace, health and safety laws already showed how to 'strike a good balance' between freedom to protest and campus safety, adding that protest had been an established tradition at Australian universities since the 1960s. 'Most of the protest restrictions introduced at the University of Melbourne are an overreach because they fail to distinguish between peaceful protests and those that pose a real threat to safety,' he said. 'The ham-fisted approach of the recent protest restrictions reflect a loss of faith in the University of Melbourne as an institution of dialogue, debate and disagreement.' Last year an Australian National University student who was expelled and a Deakin University student who was suspended for Palestine-related activism had those decisions overturned on appeal.
News.com.au
19 hours ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘Outraged, not surprised': Pro-Palestine student protesters face expulsion and suspension
The University of Melbourne has formally notified four student activists that they are being recommended for expulsion and suspension, Unimelb for Palestine student group revealed on Monday. If the recommendations are upheld, the students will become the first pro-Palestine activists to be expelled over their protest actions in Australia. Two student organisers have been notified they 'are getting expelled, and another two have been suspended,' a statement from Unimelb for Palestine said. 'If these decisions are upheld, Unimelb will become the first University in so-called Australia to expel students for protesting the genocide in Gaza.' the statement continued. 'The University of Melbourne has taken the extreme step of issuing expulsions and suspensions to students who participated in a peaceful protest. 'We were outraged, but not surprised.' The final decision now rests on the universities new Vice Chancellor Emma Johnston, who has been in her position for less than a year. In a statement to the Herald Sun, she said the University respects the rights of individuals to protest, which has not changed. 'Universities are places where free and open debate must take place, but the safety of our students and staff must also be protected as this is integral to enabling free and open debate. 'It's our responsibility to respond to any actions that may intimidate or threaten the safety of students and staff on our campuses. These matters are taken seriously and addressed under the appropriate policy which may include disciplinary procedures.' The students participated in a sit in at Jewish academic Steven Prawer's office, which ended only after police were called to disband protesters. Mr Prawer was specifically targeted as students campaigned for their university to cut ties with Israeli institutions, and Mr Prawer is affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The sit in was during height of a period of protests, where students hitched tents over campus in a peaceful protest. The universities major Arts West building was also occupied in May 2024, disrupting more than 16,800 students as classes and exams were all impacted. 'The University respects the rights of individuals to protest – this has not changed,' Ms Johnston said. 'Universities are places where free and open debate must take place, but the safety of our students and staff must also be protected as this is integral to enabling free and open debate. 'It's our responsibility to respond to any actions that may intimidate or threaten the safety of students and staff on our campuses. 'These matters are taken seriously and addressed under the appropriate policy which may include disciplinary procedures.' If Ms Johnston signs of on the expulsions and suspensions, the students will have 30 days to appeal. Unimelb for Palestine are now campaigning to pressure Ms Johnston, who led her university's student union in the 1990s, to refrain from accepting the 'pathetic and desperate move from University executives'. This comes after the Australian National University's expulsion Beatrice Tucker over her support for Hamas on ABC radio was overturned on appeal.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Student protesters face expulsion from University of Melbourne over pro-Palestine office occupation
Two University of Melbourne students have been recommended for expulsion and two for suspension for taking part in a pro-Palestine demonstration at the university's Parkville campus last October. If the decisions are upheld, the students will become the first pro-Palestine student activists for whom suspension and expulsion have been enforced in Australia since the waves of student demonstrations against Israel's assault on Gaza began in 2023. The students intend to appeal against the decision, with one telling Guardian Australia she believed the outcome had been 'prejudged' by the university, which has implemented anti-protest rules that critics have characterised as 'repressive' and an 'authoritarian' overreach. The students were referred to the institution's disciplinary committee after reports they were part of a group of about 20 who, for about 90 minutes on 9 October, occupied the office of an academic they believed was integral to the university's partnerships with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The protesters were calling on the university to disband its joint programs with Israeli universities, which have been a target of the global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement since 2004. Footage of the occupation, distributed on social media at the time, showed protesters entering the office with their faces covered by keffiyehs, hoods and masks. The university alleged the students had harassed and intimidated staff who worked in the office, damaged property by placing signs and stickers on some university-owned items including a monitor screen, and writing on and placing stickers on personal items of the academic, including a photo. The students said their demonstration had been peaceful and clearly political, that they had informed people working in the office and nearby that they were protesting and had even offered to turn down the music they were playing so others could keep working. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email One student facing expulsion, Niamh*, who spoke to Guardian Australia on condition that her real name not be used, was found by the disciplinary committee to have been present at the demonstration for no longer than 10 minutes. Documents seen by the Guardian state she was not found to have performed any of the specific actions listed by the university as 'harassing or intimidating' the staff, such as placing stickers or graffiti, but that her presence in the room with others was itself harassment and intimidation, and also constituted improper and unsafe use of university property. The committee said they were recommending Niamh be expelled on the basis of 'the seriousness of the breaches and the nature of the behaviour' and her past alleged breaches of the student conduct code. Niamh said she believed this was a reference to her participation in the 'Mahmoud's Hall' occupation of the Arts West building, a demonstration that led to the university agreeing to additional disclosures about its research project grant arrangements. Niamh appeared to have been identified as being involved in the protest in part by the university tracking her location on campus through her wifi login, a tool that has been the subject of an investigation by the office of the Victorian information commissioner. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion She said she believed the activists had been 'prejudged' by the university council, beginning with the then vice-chancellor, Duncan Maskell, circulating a university-wide email the day after the protest characterising it as 'an attempt to harass and intimidate' the academic. Maskell's email was criticised in an open letter signed by 174 university staff members, which said the comments risked impeding procedural fairness and 'enabled the action to be incorrectly framed by major media outlets as antisemitic'. Maskell did not respond to the open letter. In May last year he implemented new university rules banning 'protest that is not peaceful' and prohibiting protesters who were not university staff or students from entering university grounds. On 3 March his successor as vice-chancellor, Emma Johnston, implemented another suite of rules against protests, including that they may not be held indoors and must not obstruct entries or exits of university buildings. The rules would apply to students and staff and also to 'individual forms of action'. The student union and the National Tertiary Education Union have called the new rules 'an authoritarian approach' that erroneously conflates staff and student discomfort with lack of safety. The Human Rights Law Centre, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have urged the university to rescind them. Niamh said Johnston's rules were 'particularly disturbing and hypocritical' and 'a massive betrayal of the values and history of student unionism' given Johnston's own history as the university's student union president in the 1990s, when she advocated for direct action protests including sit-ins. 'Her words are irreconcilable with her actions when some of the worst anti-protest rules are being pushed through under her leadership,' Niamh said. 'I would love to see the university take more of an approach of wanting to sit down with their students and wanting to really hear from where their students are coming from and why students around the world feel this urgent moral necessity to stand against … the horrible atrocities we're witnessing in Gaza as well as the West Bank and all of occupied Palestine,' she said. A spokesperson for the University of Melbourne said it would not comment on individual cases 'to protect the integrity of our disciplinary processes''. 'The University of Melbourne has followed its disciplinary processes in accordance with University policy in response to an incident that took place in October 2024,' the spokesperson said. 'This process has not concluded. The University is communicating directly with individuals involved in disciplinary proceedings. Students have the right to appeal decisions made through the University's disciplinary processes.' Last year an Australian National University student who was expelled and a Deakin University student who was suspended for Palestine-related activism had those decisions overturned on appeal. *Name has been changed
CNA
4 days ago
- General
- CNA
Changes to Thailand's strict school rules welcome, but deeper issues persist
BANGKOK: As the new school year in Thailand enters its second week, students are finally getting what some feel are long-overdue changes. Crew cuts for boys and bobs for girls have been part of a regimental practice that has persisted for decades in Thai schools, after a directive was issued in 1975 when the country was governed by a military dictatorship. This has been strictly enforced by some school personnel. Videos of them haphazardly cutting students' overly long hair during morning assemblies, often in a jagged, uneven way, can be easily found circulating online. But over the last decade, some schools across the country have gradually relaxed their hairstyle rules. This includes allowing girls to have long hair, for instance. Inspired by university students who took a leading role in Thailand's pro-democracy protests of the 2020s, some student activists also filed a legal petition against the directive, arguing that it was unconstitutional and infringed on their human dignity. Thailand's Supreme Administrative Court ruled in their favour earlier this year, finding that mandating how students should wear their hair violated individual rights and is out of touch with today's society. The court decision was met with mostly positive feedback. GAP REMAINS Still, some like Laponpat 'Min' Wangpaisit, who was part of the movement behind the push for reform five years ago, cautioned that there is still a gap in the passing of the verdict and its actual enforcement. Schools are now supposed to agree with students and parents on what standard to follow, which could mean sticking to the 50-year-old one or being more lenient. 'No one has said it's prohibited to issue (any) regulations restricting student hairstyles. No one says schools are not allowed to interfere with students' hair. That simply doesn't exist,' said Laponpat, who is now studying in university. Laponpat added that if the education ministry wants to protect students' rights, it must clearly ban any interference with their hair, not just leave it up to schools. 'Equality isn't about restricting everyone the same way. It's about not restricting anyone's rights in the first place.' As attitudes and rules about school uniforms shift slightly, some shops selling uniforms have also been affected. A new directive by Thailand's education ministry now exempts students from having to wear Scout uniforms about once a week, in order to relieve parents of the financial burden of buying them. Each uniform costs about 1,300 baht (US$40). Bangkok shopkeeper Surapong Setteamee said that business had already been slow before the rule change. 'It's been very quiet this year, unlike the others. The shop would normally be full of customers, but it's been slow this year,' he told CNA. QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN QUESTION Despite a quiet revolution taking root this new school year, some experts said shortcomings remain in Thailand's education system. 'Schools are very strict when it comes to checking students' uniforms. But during the six hours that students are in class, can schools truly say they're providing high-quality education?' questioned Athapol Anunthavorasakul, director of Chulalongkorn University's Center for Educational Research and Development for Sustainable Development. A significant amount of government funds is allocated to the education ministry every year - about 10 per cent of the annual budget - but that has not translated into better performance by Thai students. In the last Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test in 2022, which is conducted worldwide by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Thai students scored below the OECD average in reading, mathematics and science. They also did worse than students in neighbouring Malaysia and Vietnam. In terms of creative thinking, Thailand scored significantly below the OECD average. Critics have pointed to the core curriculum not being updated in over 15 years, the emphasis on passive rote learning over critical thinking and creativity, and an understaffed and overworked body of teachers. Thailand's education ministry did not respond to CNA's requests for a comment. 'Nowadays, both national and international assessment results clearly show that the quality of Thai education is declining across all dimensions, whether its competency measured by PISA exams, language proficiency, or even civic knowledge,' said Athapol. He urged education authorities to focus on improving educational standards instead of punishing uniform violations, such as deducting points for incorrect attire or barring students from taking exams for not wearing them. While these kinds of shifts take time, the fact that the changes are already underway are a positive sign, said Athapol. 'Norms are created by humans, so humans can change them. They're not meant to last forever.'
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Over boos, Columbia University president notes Mahmoud Khalil's absence at graduation
NEW YORK — The head of Columbia University gave a commencement speech Wednesday acknowledging the absence of student activist Mahmoud Khalil , who was due to receive his diploma this week but is instead in a Louisiana jail facing deportation for his role in pro-Palestinian campus protests. The brief address drew loud boos and chants of 'free Palestine' from some graduating students. Acting president Claire Shipman also alluded to the crackdown on foreign students by the Trump administration that has roiled the Ivy League school in recent months.
