Student lock-in at uni hall leads to cancelled classes
Classes have been cancelled for a second day after pro-Palestine protesters spent the night locked in a renamed University of Melbourne hall.
Signage for University of Melbourne‘s Arts West building is seen with ‘Mahmoud Hall’ written on the sign outside of the building where Pro-Palestine demonstrators have taken over at the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Thursday, May 16, 2024
The group took over the Arts West building on Wednesday, dubbing it ‘Mahmoud’s Hall’ in honour of Mahmoud Alnaouq, a young Palestinian man killed in the Gaza war who was meant to start his studies at the university.
The activity was determined to have breached university policy and those in attendance were asked to vacate the area by 2.30pm on Wednesday, but the order was not heeded.
Dozens of students have remained inside the precinct with pitched tents along with unfurled banners and flags.
More than 100 spent the night camped within the building.
The university later said it was concerned by the escalation and was working closely with authorities to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
Signs posted on the building’s doors advised that classes in the precinct were cancelled for Thursday and alternative arrangements would be made.
Some students and tutors were frustrated when they found the building inaccessible.
One woman, who did not want to be named, said she had travelled almost an hour to campus before being told her class was cancelled.
At Monash University, student protesters said nine organisers had been accused of misconduct and threatened with suspension or expulsion.
The students say the misconduct allegations relate to non-violently defending the pro-Palestine encampment against pro-Israel activists.
Monash University has been contacted for comment.
An encampment at Deakin University at Burwood in Melbourne was told to disburse on Monday, but students are resisting and organised a rally for Wednesday night.
Student organiser Jasmine Duff said there are no plans to disband the camp and a ‘teach-in’ event is set to be held on Thursday afternoon.
Australian National University in Canberra has also told students to vacate the camp after it met organisers on Wednesday.
Several of Wednesday’s demonstrations were to mark the 76th anniversary of The Nakba, the mass displacement and dispossession of millions of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
In Canberra, Greens senator Barbara Pocock told the senate on Wednesday night “history will judge” universities’ response to the protests.
“We should not feel threatened by university students registering their moral opposition to the State of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians,” she said.
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson and Independent MP Allegra Spender have pushed for an inquiry into anti-Semitism at universities.
A dozen student encampments, with demands for universities to cut ties with Israel and associated weapons manufacturers, have cropped up at campuses across Australia.
The movement began after similar protests began in the United States last month.
PRO-PALESTINE ENCAMPMENTS AT AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES:
* NSW: University of Sydney, University of Wollongong
* VIC: University of Melbourne, Deakin University, Monash University, RMIT University, Latrobe University
* SA: University of Adelaide
* QLD: University of Queensland
* WA: Curtin University
* TAS: University of Tasmania
* ACT: Australian National University.
AAP
