In an important victory for Palestine activism, Melbourne’s RMIT University has been forced to drop a discipline case it brought against me because of my pro-Palestine political activity.
Last year, I filmed a video standing outside RMIT’s Sir Lawrence Wackett Defence Centre in which I explained the connections the university has to the weapons industry. The video was part of a campaign run by Students for Palestine, of which I am a member, and was intended to encourage students to attend the National Student Referendum on Palestine. The video made use of publicly available information about RMIT’s research partnerships and ties to companies like Boeing and BAE Systems, both of which contribute military technology to the Israel Defence Force and US Department of War.
A few weeks ago, I received an email from the head of my department informing me that they had received an anonymous external complaint about this video, and as a result I would have to attend a disciplinary hearing. Only after repeated requests from my student rights officer did the disciplinary board allow me to see the substance of the charge against me.
It turned out I was being threatened with suspension for three reasons. The first was naming the location of the Sir Lawrence Wackett Defence Centre, even though it is publicly listed on LinkedIn and in the Australian and New Zealand Defence Directory, and there is prominent signage to it on campus, which is visible in the video. The second was for sticking my middle finger up at a building—a gesture that was apparently too “vulgar” and “disrespectful” for RMIT management to bear. The third reason for my threatened suspension was for saying the centre should be shut down—a position I maintain and which is consistent with upholding human rights and anti-militarism.
As far as the university is concerned, students challenging genocide and militarism is more of a problem than the university having partnerships with weapons companies and militaries. This is why, over the past few years, RMIT, along with other university administrations around the country, has repeatedly tried to punish student activists who have called their activities into question.
On hearing news of my threatened suspension, the RMIT Students for Palestine collective sprang into action, launching an open letter that was signed by hundreds of staff and students, and getting support from pro-Palestine journalists and lawyers. The staff union on campus contacted me to express its support, and the student union sent a protest letter to the vice-chancellor.
Importantly, we got the story out into the media. Universities can get away with all sorts of violations of students’ rights behind closed doors because, in most cases, no-one much is paying attention and they are intimidating institutions. But when exposed to public scrutiny, they worry about their brand and can be shamed into backing down. The very same day we got the story into a mainstream publication, I was emailed a notice that the case had been dropped in its entirety, with no explanation offered.
It’s vital that we fought this case and an important victory. It should not be an offence for students and staff to criticise the university for the research it does, or to call on it to divest from the defence industry. We cannot accept their attempts to outlaw freedom of speech on campus, especially in a context where universities are increasingly moving towards a closer relationship with governments and arms companies intent on war.
And we cannot be intimidated into forgetting or ignoring what is happening in Palestine and the broader Middle East. Mandatory death penalties for Palestinians in Israel have just been introduced, and the treatment of people in southern Lebanon is starting to look more and more like that meted out to people in Gaza over the last nearly three years.
The campaign also demonstrated that, when you make a stand for democratic rights, you can win support. Rather than intimidating us, this affair has only strengthened the resolve of the Palestine campaign on campus. We will continue to organise until every last link with war and genocide is broken.
