University of Melbourne bans indoor protests

Australia’s top-ranked university has banned indoor protests, as the sector continues to navigate the fallout from last year’s pro-Palestine encampments.

A rule in force from 3 March “makes it clear” that indoor demonstrations on University of Melbourne campuses are prohibited, vice-chancellor Emma Johnston announced in an all-staff email.

Protest activity that obstructs buildings’ entries or exits “or that unreasonably disrupts university operations” is also off-limits.

Johnston told Times Higher Education that she was “clarifying” longstanding bans on behaviour that gave rise to safety concerns. “It shouldn’t need to be said, really,” she said.

“If there is a dangerous situation…we can [now] move more quickly to direct students to remove themselves. Previously, those processes were delayed. There were tactics used to…make things take much, much longer than they should.”

Melbourne attracted criticism for tolerating a week-long occupation of its Arts West building which led to scores of classes being cancelled last May. The University of Sydney, which likewise earned rebukes for its handling of demonstrations last year, banned indoor protests and protest camps in July.

In November an external report recommended that these bans be maintained, prompting an outcry from human rights advocates. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne law lecturer Sarah Schwartz said the struggles against the Vietnam War and the mistreatment of indigenous people had relied on protest tactics including office sit-ins and occupations of buildings.

Johnston said her university was “balancing the right to protest with the rights of others to not be adversely affected by the protest”.

“It is inevitable that you will get arguments on both sides,” she said. “It’s our responsibility legally to provide [a] safe environment for all of our staff and…students. We have to find that balance. The right to protest is a broader societal issue that we legally protect, but we also have this mission of education and research that we need to keep moving.”

She said Melbourne was also concerned about impacts on “psychosocial safety” – an issue of increasing concern to university administrators, after psychosocial clauses were incorporated in Australian workplace health and safety laws. The University of Sydney has also cited psychosocial safety as a factor in its changes to campus access policies.

Johnston said the “media cycle” had exaggerated the ferocity of some campus demonstrations, including the Arts West occupation. “Outrage stories…get more attention because they are targeting people’s emotions really quite strongly,” she said.

“We…need to separate what’s being reported on, and how frequently, versus what’s actually happening on campus. As a higher education sector, we are making good improvements on tackling racism on campus, but we’ve recognised that there’s more we can do.”

Meanwhile, Melbourne has published a response to the recommendations from the recent parliamentary joint committee inquiry into antisemitism on campus. University administrators will meet the Jewish Students Society every week, and tailored support introduced last year – including a dedicated study space, special consideration arrangements and other academic adjustments – will be extended.

The university’s first “anti-racism annual report”, due in April, will include “de-identified” data on Melbourne’s complaints handling processes.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com