In an email sent to all current student and staff members at the University of Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott and Provost Annamarie Jagose have detailed their proposal following a second meeting with representatives from the Gaza solidarity encampment.
Following an initial meeting between the two parties on Friday last week, University management has pledged to “initiate a representative working group to investigate our research engagements and return recommendations to the University Senate by the end of this year.”
This “representative working group” is contingent on the encampment camp being cleared from the Camperdown campus “on an agreed timetable.”
According to the email, the working group would include an “analysis of existing University of Sydney institutional defence research ties” pertaining to research contracts, grant arrangements and parties who support these projects, as well as an investigation of the University’s Investment Policy and Integrated Ethical and Social Governance Framework. It would represent “students, staff and alumni communities”, including members of the encampment and Palestinian scholars and students impacted by the conflict.
Its findings will be collated into a report with recommendations, which University management “would respond to in a timely manner.” This report will also be made “publicly available via the University’s website.”
The email also detailed a number of immediate actions Scott and Jagose have agreed to undertake as part of this deal. This includes divestment through a “review of our investment portfolio related to defence and security industries”, humanitarian support by “doubling expenditures over the next three years” for those enrolled through the Scholars at Risk program and on humanitarian visas, as well as “promoting equality and diversity.”
Beyond “acknowledging the history and legacy of racism and injustices experienced by the First Nations Peoples of Australia”, it is unclear how the last objective will be achieved. Other promises around “good faith dialogue”, “working together constructively”, “deep listening” and “respectful engagement” were also vague.
Encampment representatives have been given a deadline of 3pm on Thursday May 30 to respond.
Prior to the 5:40pm email, Students for Palestine Sydney Uni posted to Instagram reiterating that the University’s offer of “disclosure in exchange for decamping” will not be a sufficient or acceptable outcome. It was deemed an “admission” of ties to Israel rather than “a commitment to ending” them, especially as many of these ties are already public, having been uncovered by activist research, or will be revealed via a Freedom of Information request which the University is “legally obliged” to respond to within 30 days. The camp concluded their statement by reaffirming their stance: “Disclosure is a symbolic concession. We want more than symbolism. We want an end to the genocide, and an end to our university’s complicity in it.”
After the email, Students for Palestine put out another statement in which they rejected the “empty deal” and vowed not to compromise but to increase pressure.
In an organising meeting today, the University’s offer was discussed and compared to the Brown University deal with campers as it was not a direct commitment to disclosure or cutting of ties, but a process which obfuscates the fact that management remains committed to their ties. As the University Senate retains the final decision, especially if or when a working group is established, this deference to the Senate was viewed as a deflection of individual responsibility amongst leadership.
The terms of the offer were also labelled vague and amounting to a deal that is less than disclosure. In doing so, attendees identified that management is indicating that it is not under pressure, rather it is putting forward their own demand: the disbandment of the camp. It was also stated that the University’s response thus far is an attempt to deflate the current momentum of the encampment.
Attendees present at the meeting told Honi Soit that members of Socialist Alternative (SAlt) walked out of the meeting after proposing an end to the encampment. However, all other attendees voted in overwhelming support of continuing the Gaza solidarity encampment’s occupation of the Quad lawns.