University of Queensland suspends student activist Drew Pavlou

Student activist Drew Pavlou has been suspended for two years by the University of Queensland for his protests in support of Hong Kong, in a move the UQ Chancellor has described as ‘concerning’.

STUDENT activist Drew Pavlou has been suspended from the University of Queensland until 2022, after fighting 11 allegations of misconduct, including expulsion from the institution.

The decision comes after Mr Pavlou faced the allegations for a number of social media posts, leading campus protests in support of independence in Hong Kong last year and publicly criticising the university’s ties with China.

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“They sent me an email, they didn’t give me any reasoning for the decision, they directed me to keep it confidential,” Mr Pavlou said.

Drew Pavlou has been suspended from UQ. Picture: John Gass

He was told by a disciplinary panel that he could re-enroll in 2022, a semester after his student-elected position on the UQ governing senate would expire.

“We’re going to appeal it immediately to an independent court of law, hopefully the Supreme Court of Queensland, I think it will be immediately vindicated because anyone can see how politically motivated this case has been from the start,” he said.

The student, who was a UQ governing senate member, said the suspension would cease his ability to pledge his $50,000 salary to support Hong Kong that he had promised.

“I made the first $10,000 just last month and now they’re trying to remove me so that I won’t be able to make the installments or pay the rest of my senate salary,” he said.

“I guess it’s too embarrassing for UQ to be indirectly financing human rights work in the country of one of its key partners.”

Drew Pavlou with mum Vanessa outside his expulsion hearing at St Lucia. Picture: Annette Dew

UQ chancellor Peter Varghese expressed his concern about the decision.

“There are aspects of the findings and the severity of the penalty which personally concern me,” he said.

“In consultation with the Vice Chancellor, who has played no role in this disciplinary process, I have decided to convene an out-of-session meeting of UQ’s Senate next week to discuss the matter.”

But Mr Pavlou said the statement was “a joke.”

“Who made the decision to bring in the two international law firms, who made the decision to bring in the PR firm?”

“Do they really expect us to believe that they have absolutely no say in this decision.”

The fourth-year student and his legal representative, barrister Tony Morris CQ walked out of his hearing last Friday after claiming the process was illegitimate.

“It’s not over until the appeals process has concluded and I vow to fight this before an independent court of law.’’