UQ student activist Drew Pavlou reveals cost of suspension fight
University of Queensland anti-CCP activist Drew Pavlou has spoken of the personal toll of his fight against the “billion dollar institution throwing bottomless resources” into his suspension case for “political reasons”.
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OUTSPOKEN student activist Drew Pavlou has warned he will be forced to withdraw from his courses this semester to cope with the pressure of fighting his suspension at the University of Queensland.
The anti-CCP 21-year-old philosophy, English and history student was due to graduate at the end of the upcoming semester, and is currently appealing a two-year suspension.
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He has been facing disciplinary action since the University served him with a 186-page dossier detailing 11 allegations of misconduct on April 9 this year.
Mr Pavlou told The Courier-Mail that he would be withdrawing from subjects to try to fight the “huge campaign that’s been levelled against him” by the “billion dollar institution”.
“I believe I will eventually be exonerated on appeal but withdrawing this semester means delaying my graduation for a year,” he said.
“I’ve got until July 21 to withdraw without academic penalty and my plan is to wait until the last possible moment to lodge the paperwork so I can continue to sit on the UQ Senate in the meantime.”
Mr Pavlou has an academic GPA of 6.78 and two Dean’s Commendation of Academic Excellence twice in his study of Bachelor of Arts.
“To those who would call this a stunt to strong arm the university, I would invite them to experience the wonderful feeling of being 21 and facing a billion dollar institution throwing bottomless resources into a case to tar you and frame you for political reasons … this kind of bullying takes its toll,” he said.
“The University of Queensland’s insane vendetta against me has taken a tremendous personal toll and forced me to withdraw from classes. My legal counsel Tony Morris QC will be seeking damages against UQ in the Supreme Court of Queensland - this bullying cannot go on.”
The University of Queensland has strongly maintained that the disciplinary action taken against Mr Pavlou is not about free speech.
The University has previously said it does not usually comment about individual disciplinary matters, “as they are designed to be confidential to ensure the integrity of the process and to protect those involved”.
“The University’s policies are not driven by politics, and we completely reject the claims that this ongoing disciplinary matter is a free-speech issue; student disciplinary matters are initiated in response to complaints made to the University,” a previous statement said.
In another statement on May 9, the university said its values and policies set expectations and standards of behaviour for staff and students that, as a member of our community, there is a shared responsibility to uphold.
“When there are complaints about the behaviour of staff or students, we have an obligation to take these complaints seriously and manage them through the standard University disciplinary process,” the statement said.
“The University rejects recent unsubstantiated accusations about any political motivations.”
Mr Pavlou’s pro-bono barrister Tony Morris QC lodged an appeal with the University’s Academic Registrar against the two-year suspension Pavlou received at the end of May. The appeal will be heard and decided by the Senate Disciplinary Appeals Committee (SDAC) which comprises Senate members as well as staff and student representatives. Mr Pavlou remains an enrolled student while the appeal process is ongoing, with no date set for the hearing yet.
Originally published as UQ student activist Drew Pavlou reveals cost of suspension fight