Pictured: Peter Varghese, Chancellor of the University of Queensland
The University of Queensland will involve police and take disciplinary action against students involved in pro-Palestine protests after alleged incidents of assault, property damage and hate speech on campus.
UQ chancellor Peter Varghese said the behavior went beyond a legitimate protest and breached the university’s codes of conduct.
The UQ Senate met on Thursday and while it remained committed to freedom of expression, Varghese said it did not extend to actions on campus that disrupted classes or put the safety of staff and students at risk.
“Anti-Semitism and other hate speech have no place on our campus,” he said.
‘The Senate noted that the freedom to protest is not absolute. The university has a duty to promote the well-being of staff and students.’
Tensions continue to rise between rival pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli camps that have set up shop on the main campus of the University of Queensland (pictured).
Students have warned they are “not going anywhere” despite being issued a notice to leave campus as soon as possible (pictured)
Varghese said the university was taking steps to discontinue camps that had been set up on campus to avoid further disruption and security ahead of the exam period and had met with representatives of the protest.
But the students have told the mail “They are not going anywhere” even though they have been issued a notice to leave as soon as possible.
A student and member of Students for Palestine, Liam Parry, said the university had not communicated with his group about the decision to evict the protesters.
‘To be honest, this is news to us. As far as I know, the university has not told us that we should close,” he stated.
‘I know that the university does not like the existence of the camps, they have said so, but they have not told us that we should close them at all.
‘From our perspective, we have freedom of expression and the ability to continue protesting. We are definitely not leaving. We’re not going anywhere.
The University of Queensland will involve police and take disciplinary action against students involved in pro-Palestine protests (pictured, tents on campus)
Another student and member of the pro-Israel Camp Shalom, Idan Benesch, said his organization would respect the measure.
“I feel this is the best thing for the university, for the students and also for our camp,” he told the Courier Mail.
The other day I was having lunch in the food court minding my business with other students and everything was interrupted.
‘I know the goal of a protest is disruption, but at a university where you have a bunch of tired students who are getting their brains bombarded with information and then during their only peaceful lunchtime, a protest starts.
‘It’s just not enjoyable for any student. “I feel like the university asking us to leave is something we will respect.”
Political activist Drew Pavlou confronted protesters at the University of Queensland after a person allegedly put a Jewish sticker on his bag (pictured).
On Thursday, about 100 protesters from the group Students for Palestine occupied the Advanced Engineering Building, leading to the cancellation of classes and lectures because people could not enter the building.
Videos on social media showed protesters inside chanting: “Free, free Palestine.”
“This is a private movement that wins,” one man said into a megaphone.
“I promise you that we will win this fight and this university will get rid of the genocide and we will keep going until we win.”
Political activist Drew Pavlou said he was “peacefully” watching the rally when someone put a Jewish sticker on his bag.
“So I faced the mob of 100 Trotskyists and socialists and denounced anti-Semitism,” he wrote in X.
“This bald guy who’s not even a student tried to push me back and I tried to grab him to steady myself.”
Last week, a window was allegedly broken during a protest at the university.
UQ vice-chancellor Deborah Terry (pictured) said the university was working with designated protest representatives to reach agreement on a peaceful resolution.
UQ vice-chancellor Deborah Terry said they were working with designated protest representatives to agree a peaceful resolution to the current camp arrangements.
“The UQ Senate has endorsed this approach and UQ Chancellor Peter Varghese’s statement reaffirms our commitment to freedom of expression, while recognizing that there are limitations related to security and disruption to activities and operations on campus,” he said.
“The University will continue to ensure that we take appropriate action when there are incidents that do not conform to our codes of conduct while we do everything we can to move towards a peaceful resolution.”
