Staff at La Trobe University have been told to let encampment protesters disrupt classes to allow them to “share the information they wish to”.
Staff at La Trobe University have been told not to intervene when protesters disrupt their classrooms and allow them to “share the information they wish to”.
It comes as tensions reached boiling point at two Victorian universities on Tuesday as Palestine and Israel supporters clashed at “solidarity with Gaza” encampments, leaving one staff member with cuts and bruises.
Students at Deakin University and La Trobe University launched their “camp for Palestine” following similar ongoing demonstrations held at Monash University and the University of Melbourne last week and RMIT on Monday.
The Victorian universities have joined a global student movement where pro-Palestine supporters are calling on tertiary institutions to cut ties with companies associated with weapon manufacturing and Israel.
An email sent to La Trobe University staff by Provost Professor Robert Pike on Wednesday morning said it had come to the university’s attention that student protests may target on campus classes.
“If protesters enter your classes, we would ask that you refrain from intervening and allow them to share the information they wish to,” the email said.
“If they stay for longer than five minutes, we request that you notify security.”
Read the article by Suzan Delibasic, Rebecca Borg and Susie O’Brien in the Herald Sun.