Melbourne Uni students agree to end building occupation

Student protesters at the University of Melbourne say they will end their occupation of a building and pack up a long-running Pro-Palestine encampment on the campus’ south lawn after the university agreed to disclose its ties to weapons companies.

Organiser Dana Alshaer, who was born on the West Bank and has been leading student negotiations with university management about divestment since November, said the students would disband the protest once the university committed to disclose on Thursday morning – a key student demand.

University of Melbourne protest leader Dana Alshaer.Credit: Joe Armao

“We have made the decision to end the encampment at South Lawn and the sit-in at Mahmoud’s Hall,” Alshaer said on Wednesday night.

“Tomorrow morning we will pack up after the University’s public commitment to disclosure.”

A university spokesman did not comment on any agreement struck, but welcomed “the willingness of the occupiers to leave the Arts West building and remove the encampment from our Parkville campus”.

Most protest camps at universities across the state have now disbanded following threats of expulsion from universities.

The University of Melbourne camp first sprang up on the picturesque South Lawn last month, vowing to stay put until the university cuts its ties with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and BAE systems, which they say allow the university to profit from genocide.

A week ago, a smaller group ramped up the campaign by moving into the Arts West building. They renamed it Mahmoud’s Hall – in honour of Palestinian student Mahmoud Alnaouq, who they say intended to study at Melbourne University on a scholarship this year but was killed alongside 19 family members in Gaza on October 20.

Alshaer said the camp expected the university to disclose all its ties to weapons companies within a month, with independent oversight, and students would keep campaigning for it to end those deals altogether. “This is a major win, but it’s also a first step.”

She called on the university’s chancellor to intervene to stop students being penalised over the protests.

Almost 10,000 people have signed a petition supporting staff and students protesting following a warning from the vice chancellor that demonstrators who refused to leave the building risked expulsion or police action.

The university said the sit-in raised serious safety concerns, something the staff union disputed. University management had previously threatened to send in law enforcement to clear protesters out, but Victoria Police said no formal complaint of trespass – required for them to go in and remove the protesters – was made.

Other universities such as Monash and Latrobe have launched disciplinary action against students taking part in encampments, while police have investigated some pro-Israel counter-protesters who have harassed the camps.

Student encampments in Australia have been relatively peaceful compared to ugly clashes in the United States, where colleges have called in riot police to clear out protesters.

Some politicians and Jewish groups have been calling on Australian universities to follow suit, as the camps become a flashpoint for national debate over the war in Gaza, and rising concern about antisemitism on our shores.

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