University of Queensland senate to meet today over two-year suspension of student activist

UQ student activist Drew Pavlou led a vigil in memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre last night ahead of a university senate meeting today where he expects to be exonerated.

AN embattled student activist who was suspended remains confident he will be exonerated today, and plans to make the university “respected again” after it was embroiled in controversy over disciplining him.

University of Queensland student Drew Pavlou yesterday said he looked forward to working with the institution’s Chancellor Peter Varghese again, after the senate meets today to discuss the decision to suspend him over 11 allegations of misconduct.

But the student’s activism on human rights has not wavered in the wake of the suspension until 2022.

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Embattled student activist Drew Pavlou leads a candlelight vigil in memory of the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Picture: Josh Woning

On the eve of the out-of-session senate meeting that will discuss the decision to suspend the student a week ago, Mr Pavlou led a vigil with Hong Kong International Alliance in memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

The vigil lasted for over an hour last night with about 200 standing in memory of the people killed at the Tiananmen Square protest, socially distanced at UQ’s Great Court.

“They died for democracy but were murdered for no good, it was totally unjust,” Mr Pavlou said.

“They killed the students, they killed thousands of innocent unarmed students but they didn’t kill the idea, they didn’t kill the idea of democracy, of justice, of human rights.

“We’ll continue the fight, peacefully, nonviolently, and one day there will be a statue of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the Mao portrait will come down and there will be statues of democratic protesters that died on that day.”

Through the sandstone colonnade of the Great Court, “Free Drew Pavlou. Free Hong Kong. Free Tibet. Free Taiwan. Democracy in China” echoed as the students chanted at the close of the vigil.

More than 200 gather at University of Queensland’s Great Court to hold a vigil in memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Picture: Josh Woning

Pavlou then seized the crowd and led them to the University’s Confucius Institute in a bid to protest the tertiary institution’s ties with the Chinese Government once more.

“So we’re here today to say the UQ should divest its relationship with the Chinese government,” he said as his supporters crowded the hallway outside the Confucious institute.

“Until this government stops trying to murder dissidents, torture them simply for speaking out, we want our university, the University of Queensland, to completely divest from the Chinese government, close this rotten blood-drenched Confuscious Instute, completely divest from any relationship with the Chinese government.”

“Our university relies on the Chinese Government for 20 per cent of its revenue, hundreds of millions of dollars, and because of that we can no longer speak out freely on campus criticising the Chinese government, we actually face security … they threaten to expel you if you speak out these days.

“We want a campus where we can speak out freely.”

Drew Pavlou says he expects to be exonerated by a University of Queensland senate meeting today.

The student, who has led protests at the university and criticised the institution for its links with the Chinese government on social media, faced 11 allegations of misconduct.

“Varghese is holding a senate meeting tomorrow to discuss my fate, and it’s pretty weird because this whole time they’ve been going ‘we have to follow the process we have to follow the rules strictly’ and now all of the sudden he wants to hold a meeting where he will possibly just unilaterally change the entire penalty I’ve faced,” Mr Pavlou said.

“I don’t really know what his deal is, the Vice-Chancellor is not sitting on the meeting apparently because of conflict of interest, and that’s quite interesting because I guess given Varghese’s statement that the Vice-Chancellor was not involved in the process whatsoever, it raises questions in what process Peter Høj have conflict of interest in and why can’t he sit in on the meeting.”

In an email sent to the 21-year-old, Mr Pavlou was yesterday informed he could not attend the out-of-session senate meeting that would discuss the Disciplinary Board’s decision to suspend the student over allegations of misconduct.

Mr Pavlou was told because he had made an appeal to the Senate Disciplinary Appeals Committee, the Chancellor was working on the basis that under conflict of interest protocols it would not be appropriate for the student to participate in the meeting, receive meeting papers, or receive the minutes of the meeting.

Vice-Chancellor Peter Høj has informed the Senate he would not be participating in the meeting, receive meeting papers, or receive the minutes, while Senate members who will participate in the Student Disciplinary Appeals Committee will also not participate or receive meeting documents.

Mr Pavlou said on social media that he had been barred at the meeting that decides his fate “despite being democratically elected by students to stop these smoky backroom deals. No oversight!”.

A UQ spokeswoman said Friday’s meeting was to brief the Senate on the outcome of Mr Pavlou’s disciplinary matter.

“It would be inconsistent with standard conflict of interest procedures if Mr Pavlou or Senate members directly involved in the appeal process were to attend.

“The Vice Chancellor will also not attend.”

Top barrister Tony Morris QC, representing Mr Pavlou pro-bono, this week launched the 21-year-old’s appeal.