Management at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in February announced that protests could be organised on campus only with approval from the university, and that only a select few could apply for permission. The protest approval form, which must be completed before a protest can be held, includes questions about the potential damage to the physical and psychosocial wellbeing of anyone who might oppose the action, with the implication being that permission might be denied if the protest was likely to make someone feel upset. It also requires any leaflets that may be distributed to be submitted for approval. What’s worse, the form can be filled in only by staff, student union representatives and student club presidents—a rule which denies about 50,000 students the right even to seek permission to hold a protest.
Tellingly, when pro-Palestine activists sent management a letter objecting to the policy on the basis that it is anti-democratic and implicitly racist given that most student union protests are about Palestine, the university allowed the 11 March Student Strike for Palestine to take place without formal approval. Management has, nevertheless, indicated that it isn’t willing to back down on the implementation of the approval system. The idea that people fighting against the atrocities in Gaza should have to consider the feelings of those who support the genocide is absurd, as is the university’s shameless denial of democratic rights to the vast majority of students on campus. The fight will continue.
