Two students who protested against a speech by Malcolm Turnbull at Sydney University last year have been suspended after a university investigation found they violated the former prime minister’s freedom of speech.
Sydney University administrators told student activists Maddie Clark, 22, and Deaglan Godwin, 23, they would be suspended for one year and one semester respectively, for their roles in disrupting an event run by the university’s law society, in which law school alumni Turnbull was invited to speak to current students.
Deaglan Godwin and Maddie Clark have been suspended from Sydney University.Credit: Edwina Pickles
About a dozen student protesters converged on the room where Turnbull had just started to speak in September last year.
“Can I just ask, how many of you would like me to speak today, or how many of you would like me to leave?” Turnbull asked the room of students.
“How many of you would like to pay $100,000 for university?” retorted now-suspended Godwin. “F--- back off to Mosman, F--- back off to Wentworth.”
The university launched an internal investigation following the event, during which a private lawyer interviewed witnesses and the two protesters, before preparing a report for the university’s registrar. The students were bound by strict confidentiality agreements and were not allowed to talk about the investigation. The university ultimately found the students had violated Turnbull’s freedom of speech and made him and other students afraid.
Clark, who had previously been given a suspended suspension (a sort of final warning that does not involve a student being suspended from classes) for protesting in front of a pro-life stall last year, was suspended for one year, and is not allowed to participate in classes.
Godwin was suspended for a semester.
“I fully accept the right for people to hear Malcolm Turnbull,” he said. “The aim of the protest was never to shut it down, but to present an alternative point of view that has now been silenced by the university.”
“The university talks about being a marketplace of ideas, but when ideas that are critical of the status quo are put forward ... they’re shut down, and the people that put them forward face intimidation and disciplinary procedures.”
Deaglan Godwin protests Malcolm Turnbull at a Sydney University Law Society event in September 2022.
While the university said it cannot comment on specific cases, a spokesperson said: “We have a rich history of activism and protest on our campuses, and all students and staff have the right to express themselves freely, as long as it’s done safely and in accordance with our policies and the law”.
“We don’t take any disciplinary action lightly, knowing it has consequences for our students.
“We consider attempts to shut down speakers who have been invited to our campuses to participate in an exchange of views and ideas as contrary to our Charter of Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom which defines the core values of our University in these matters.”
At the time, Turnbull decried the protest as “fascism”, saying it was a “dreadful state of affairs” and a “very sad day” for his alma mater. He was approached for comment.
The students will appeal the decision.
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