By Alex Crowe
Students who joined pro-Palestine protests face suspension or expulsion after administrators from several Melbourne universities issued demonstrators notices to attend misconduct hearings.
Melbourne University on Wednesday emailed some students who took part in an occupation of a building on the Parkville campus advising them of the disciplinary action.
Hundreds of students occupied a building at the University of Melbourne protesting against the war in Gaza on May 3.Credit: Eamon Gallagher
In an email seen by The Age, students were told they had breached the university’s code of conduct during protests at the Parkville campus last month. They were also sent individualised CCTV footage of themselves inside the Arts West building as evidence of wrongdoing.
About 20 of the protesters facing disciplinary action were meeting legal representatives on Thursday afternoon to discuss their options, said a source with close ties to the students, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals.
Several Victorian universities last month warned students of potential suspension or expulsion if their protest actions were deemed to be in serious breach of the rules.
Activist group Students for Palestine said nine students at Monash University and two each at Deakin and La Trobe universities were sent misconduct notices. A spokesperson for the group said one student had already been suspended for their part in the protests.
Madeline Curkovic is among the students facing disciplinary action.Credit: Joe Armao
Monash student Madeline Curkovic said she faced suspension or expulsion for leading a peaceful protest encampment. Curkovic, who helped organise the Monash camp, said the disciplinary action was an attack on freedom of speech and the right to protest.
“Monash has already banned us from setting foot on the grass where the camp once stood,” she said. Curkovic said the university camp had been set up to protest against Monash’s links to weapons manufacturers.
“Every morning, we wake up to see that more civilians have been killed,” she said. “Our protests were an important act of moral commitment to standing on the right side of history.”
Students for Palestine is working with legal firms and community support networks to fight the disciplinary measures.
Monash University said it was considering all formal reports of student general misconduct related to protests.
“We are reviewing and investigating the complaints in line with our policies and procedures, which has resulted in a number of formal notices of student misconduct being issued,” a spokesperson said.
La Trobe University said on Thursday that the peaceful removal of the encampment on its grounds would be taken into account during disciplinary proceedings – even though it happened after a university-imposed deadline.
A spokesperson said the university had a clear and transparent student conduct policy, and it was important that “the integrity of our conduct process is upheld and progressed to an outcome”.
Deakin said it could not comment on the matter.
The Australian National University this month became the country’s first campus to take such action, when Beatrice Tucker was expelled for expressing support for Hamas on ABC radio.
Most university encampments were wound up by students last month after threats of disciplinary action from administrators.
Melbourne University protesters ended their occupation of the Arts West building and packed up a long-running pro-Palestine encampment on the south lawn in May before the semester break.
The truce between the administration and pro-Palestine protesters was reached after the university agreed to disclose its ties to weapons companies.
A University of Melbourne spokesperson said a range of matters related to student conduct were being assessed, but the university would not comment on individual matters for privacy reasons.
“The university is in direct communication with individuals as required in relation to these matters,” the spokesperson said.
A petition started on behalf of the students facing misconduct proceedings had been signed by more than 14,000 people on Thursday. A statement on social media from the Unimelb for Palestine campaign group called for support to prevent disciplinary action.
“We, the community, condemn these threats and intimidation made by the University of Melbourne to these brave students and staff, who have been peacefully calling for disclosure and divestment of the University of Melbourne’s ties to weapons manufacturers supplying Israeli Occupation Forces,” the Change.org petition says.
“These students face potential failure of their semester and potential expulsion, and yet will still accumulate thousands in HECS debt.
“This is all because they have stood up to a university that preaches human rights and decolonisation, and yet is involved in a genocidal weapons supply chain.
“We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with pro-Palestinian students and staff who continue to do everything in their power to demand the University of Melbourne cut all ties with weapons manufacturers supplying Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”
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