Image: A Pro-Palestine protest at the University of Sydney in Sydney (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
The University of Sydney has made another offer to the pro-Palestinian encampments after students rejected management’s initial “empty” proposal.
In exchange for moving the encampments off campus, Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott sent an email to all staff and students on Wednesday morning promising to disclose “our defence and security related research activities and our investment in these industries”.
However, the Vice-Chancellor asserted that demands for the university to cut ties with Israeli institutions would not be met.
“The University will … continue to support the right of our academics and students to do research, partner with industry and collaborate with people from around the world,” the email reads.
Students at the encampment are yet to formally respond to the proposal, but had quickly rejected the previous offer, slammed as an “empty proposal”.
University management had offered to set up an ‘independent’ working group to review and give recommendations regarding the university’s institutional defence research ties, without guarantee of full disclosure, divestment, or severing of ties.
“Mark Scott expected us to accept this empty proposal and agree to permanently disbanding the encampment at USYD. Mark Scott wants to cover up USYD’s support for genocide and punish students for exposing the ties,” a statement from Students Against War reads.
Protestors camped on university grounds have previously said they would not settle for anything less than the cutting of all ties with Israel and companies known to fund the Israel Defense Force (IDF).
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