Melbourne University students face expulsion after pro-Palestine protests
Students at the University of Melbourne who took part in pro-Palestine protests are facing expulsion after administrators issued several protesters with misconduct notices.
The university has emailed some students who took part in an occupation of a building on the Parkville campus advising them of upcoming misconduct hearings.
Hundreds of students occupied a building at the University of Melbourne protesting the war in Gaza on May 3.
The university has previously warned that student protesters found to have seriously breached its code of conduct were at risk of expulsion. Earlier this month, Australian National University became the country’s first campus to take such action, when Beatrice Tucker was expelled for expressing support for Hamas on ABC radio.
Melbourne University student protesters ended their occupation of the Arts West building and packed up a long-running pro-Palestine encampment on the south lawn of the campus last month.
The truce between the administration and the pro-Palestine protesters was reached after the university agreed to disclose its ties to weapons companies.
A Melbourne University spokesperson said a range of matters related to student conduct was currently being assessed. They said 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 Unimelb for Palestine 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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