“Hypocritical” University calls police as protesters removed

BY LUCAS BAIRD

The University of Sydney has been called “hypocritical” and was accused of lying by A  Let SCA Stay spokesperson after police were called to a protest last week.

Police arrived at the university’s Camperdown Campus around six last Friday morning. When they showed up security began to eject students who had set up camp on the Quadrangle as part of a two-day demonstration against the closure of the Rozelle Campus.

“Some protesters defaced the University’s Quadrangle, and even more distressingly, there are reports that physical force was used against a student who objected to the demonstration,” University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor, Michael Spence, said to justify the ejection.

However, protester and spokesperson for the demonstration, Thandiwe Bethune told City Hub: “I don’t know of [objectors] that were in anyway physically impacted. I think that is just straight up a lie.”

Ms Bethune, who is also a first year Bachelor of Visual Arts student, said that while the police only watched on while university security put an end to the demonstration, it was “a bit scary”.

“[University security] came and told us that we had three minutes to pack up. We kinda said that we can’t pack up tents and things in three minutes and then they just started taking our things and putting them in a truck, kind of just telling us to leave.”

“I think [the police] were mostly there for show. Kind of putting up the tough front, there to intimidate us; they didn’t talk to us or anything.”

She also said that the university was “a bit hypocritical to say the least”, referring to a previous statement from the administration that student’s have the right to express their views and protest peacefully.

But Dr Spence said: “we cannot continue to support that right if it extends to damaging property, or threatening or physically interfering with the rights of other members of the University community.”

Before they were removed, the students dropped a 14 x 7 metre banner from the Quad’s roof that read “U$YD IS KILLING ITS ART SCHOOL” and had begun work on a protest sculpture, but both have now been removed.

The removal of the students from the Camperdown campus put an end to the planned second day of the protest. However, Ms Bethune said that their ejection was predicted and didn’t disrupt their plans in any major way.

She said that the students returned to the Rozelle campus to join the ongoing occupation of the Dean’s office, which started on the 22nd of August.