Campus safety a universal right

Last year, supporters of the Hamas regime in Gaza camped on university campuses, ostensibly to protest Israel’s campaign against the terrorists. But some of the protesters went further, occupying buildings, intimidating students, even staff, all in the guise of expressing free speech. And management at the University of Sydney feared taking them on. Internal university documents reported in The Australian reveal plans to ensure Jewish students could avoid protesters, and for a “safe space” where they could sit exams. This was less a proposal to keep the peace than a draft statement of surrender.

It appears the same thinking still prevails at the university. Last week, a meeting of the Students’ Representative Council condemned the new definition of anti-Semitism adopted by Australia’s universities. Participants turned their backs on Jewish students who had the considerable courage to speak up.

Certainly that was a form of free speech but vice-chancellor Mark Scott should have spoken out against the message – reminding his whole community that criticism of Israel that conflates with anti-Semitism is unforgivable. Instead, a university spokeswoman told The Australian it had reminded student groups “of their obligations to manage their meetings in a way that is respectful of the opinion of others”. It is not enough. As we reported on Tuesday, medicine academic Associate Professor Les Schrieber warns anti-Israel, pro-Hamas public positions among staff are such that Jewish school leavers are enrolling elsewhere. Macquarie University runs a similar risk. It has established a safe space for Jewish students, creating the question: Why has the university so abandoned control that they need sanctuary? At Sydney University, Professor Scott must make plain that his campuses are places of free and fierce debate but all staff and students have an equal right to respect and protection.

And if he needs inspiration he should look to the University of Melbourne. Last year it appeared management had lost control of Gaza protests, with a building occupied and classes cancelled. There was a recent attempt to repeat the occupation, which campus security stopped. The difference is down to new vice-chancellor Emma Johnston, whose new rules specify permitted locations for protests so “the thoughtful exchange of divergent views may occur in a civil and peaceful manner”.

There is no place for appeasement at a university and vice-chancellors need to keep making that plain to anti-Semites and anybody else intent on imposing their opinions by fear.