Sydney University lecturer shocks students with internet search advice on ‘committing suicide’
A SYDNEY university lecturer has flippantly advised students to use alternative search engines if they plan to kill themselves in order to cover their digital tracks. The Daily Telegraph attended both lectures to investigate modern-day uni teaching and culture.
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A SYDNEY university lecturer has flippantly advised students to use alternative search engines if they plan to kill themselves in order to cover their digital tracks.
NOTE: The Press Council found this article did not breach its Standards of Practice. Read the full adjudication here.
Dr Fiona Martin’s shock comments came as she advocated her class of 18-year-old media students use web tools that did not store search data.
“If you’re planning to commit suicide or murder one of your lecturers, I really recommend looking (at them),” Dr Martin said.
Her bizarre statement, which drew a muted response from the class, appear at odds with the University of Sydney’s provision of counselling resources and self-help documents supporting students with mental health problems and suicidal thoughts.
The same lecturer also described the work of late cartoonist Bill Leak as “vile” in her media course lectures, before saying “may he rest not in peace”.
Dr Martin made the comments while teaching journalism students in her internet Transformations course which looks at the history of the internet, how it has changed the media landscape and impacted on journalists’ work.
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The Daily Telegraph attended both lectures at the University of Sydney as part of an investigation into modern-day uni teaching and culture.
In her lecture on search engines and internet privacy yesterday Dr Martin, a co-author and editor of The Value of Public Service Media, joked about suicide and murder while warning students about data collection.
“I think it’s important to start asking what you want collected about your daily routines,” the former ABC journalist said.
“I personally would start using alternative search engines if you are concerned about the sort of activity, say the political activities you are involved in.
“Use something like Duck Duck Go and Findx which are privacy oriented search engines that don’t store your search data.”
Dr Martin attacked the work of late The Australian cartoonist Bill Leak in another lecture about new publishing opportunities.
She said the internet had opened the way for an explosion of diversity and activism, going on to show Leak’s cartoon about an indigenous father who doesn’t know his son’s name, published in 2016 in the wake of publicity about juvenile crime in the Northern Territory.
“This vile cartoon here by Bill Leak — may he rest not in peace … That to me kind of encapsulates the possibilities of counter speech on the internet,” Dr Martin said.
Dr Martin did not respond to questions about her Leak comments, but said her advice about search histories informed students they could be used in court proceedings and was given in the context of a lecture on internet studies.
“I fully support students who are experiencing mental health issues to seek help and advice in whatever way is appropriate to them,” she said.
National Centre for Suicide Prevention Training, Training Manager Gaynor Hicks described the comments about suicide as shocking.
“If the university knows it would be quite disturbing,” she said. “University students go through tremendous stress. I have done quite a bit of training the university students who struggle. A lot of international students have sacrificed a lot, language problems and a lot of them suffer because it is a taboo back in their country.
“The lecturer should have offered resources and contact numbers for people if they were struggling.”
University student handbooks contain guides offering counselling and assistance for students suffering from mental health problems and suicidal thoughts. The University said it could not comment on specific incidents in lectures that haven’t been the subject of a formal complaint but expected codes of conduct to be adhered to.
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