Key points:
- On Wednesday 7 August the fifth Student General Meeting since 1971 was held at the University of Sydney.
- More than 500 students attended this SGM, filling up the Eastern Avenue Auditorium, one room in the Chemistry building and another in the Conservatorium.
- Students voted overwhelmingly in favour of two motions, the first calling on the University to disclose and divest from its partnerships with weapons manufacturers and higher education institutions in Israel, and the second in support of Palestinian statehood and the right to resist.
- The event concluded with a march to the offices of University administration and Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott at F23.
On August 7, a Student General Meeting was held at University of Sydney to vote upon two motions:
- Demand USyd Cut Ties with Genocide
- One Palestinian State, Affirm the Right to Resist
Students were marshalled by registration into Eastern Avenue Auditorium, with any overflow set to fill Chemistry Lecture Theatre 3. The line for registration stretched out past the Chemistry Building and on to the City Rd footbridge. A satellite room was set up in the Conservatorium.
One student, Alex, told Honi that they are attending the SGM because it is “important that more people understand USyd’s complicity with what’s going on in Gaza”.
The capacity of the Eastern Avenue auditorium was 500, which was filled relatively quickly, with Honi sending one of their editors to Chemistry Lecture Hall 3 to meet the demand.
The meeting began at 5.35pm, half an hour after the projected start time. SRC Secretary to Council, Julia Robins, urged for everyone to follow the proceedings and Harrison Brennan, SRC President, noting the delay incurred by the massive crowds attending, said that “this [meeting] agenda is completely useless now”.
Brennan delivered the Acknowledgement of Country, recognising that we gather on land that was “violently stolen,” and that “colonial violence is not something of the past.”
Brennan began by explaining how the 2024 Student General Meeting would be conducted, whereby the movers of each motion would be given two minutes to explain the motion, while individual speakers for and against the motion were given 90 seconds. Movers of the motion also retained the right of reply before a final vote.
Jasmine Al-Rawi (SRC Welfare Officer, Students for Palestine), the Deputy Chair of the SGM, delivered a brief history of SGMs. Al-Rawi reminded the audience this was the 5th general meeting that the SRC has ever hosted. She spoke to the University’s “proud history of SGMs”, and mentioned the first meeting held in 1971, to oppose the Australian tour of an all-white South African rugby team during South African apartheid.
“We are living in a world with the worst brutality we have seen in decades, but this meeting represents hope of what students can achieve when they fight together.”
“Palestinians have experienced untold horrors. Forced to be displaced time and time again, [resorting to] makeshift shelters, which were once schools, hospitals, buildings.”
“The bombs that are dropped are made by weapons companies that have names, and these companies do their research right here at Sydney University,” she said.
Al-Rawi also mentioned the turnout for the University of Queensland’s SGM on May 29. UQ’s SGM saw over one thousand students in attendance, voting for the UQ’s divestment from weapons manufacturers and Israel.
MOTION 1 – Demand USyd Cut Ties with Genocide
The first motion, demanding that USyd cut ties with the genocide in Gaza, was moved by SRC Education Officers Shovan Bhattarai (SAlt) and Grace Street (Grassroots).
Bhattarai began by leading with a chant of “Free, free Palestine”, which prompted a cluster of campus Liberals to yell “from Hamas” in response.
Bhattarai went on to explain the grave situation in Gaza: “This genocide has killed 186,000 people, 8% of the population of Gaza. Our government has backed up the arming of the F-35 planes. We have come out in our dozens and in our hundreds to make clear that we refuse to be complicit in this genocide any longer.”
Street then noted, “it is not controversial to say that BDS led to the dismantling of apartheid South Africa, and it is not an exaggeration to say it will lead to the dismantling of apartheid Israel.”
Street went on to explain USyd’s complicity and the rationale of the motion: “our University has very strong ties to Israeli academic institutions, all of which plan, implement and justify Israel’s occupation tactics in Gaza.” Street cited the Memorandum of Understanding with Thales, reiterating that Thales “creates the Watchkeeper drones used to surveil and kill Palestinians in Gaza.”
Speaking against the motion, Liberal party member Satvik Sharma moved an amendment that the “SRC condemn the attacks of October 7th and condemn the genocidal terrorist organisation Hamas”. Robins encouraged everyone to stay silent as heckling means that speaking time must be paused.
The proposed amendment was put to a vote and failed by an overwhelming majority.
Deputy Chair, Al-Rawi, then stated the heckling was not necessary, as those for the motion had the right arguments “to combat this loser”.
Sharma went on to state, “you guys have just voted against condemning the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust” and referred to Hamas as a “registered terrorist organisation”.
The first speaker for Motion 1, SRC Vice President Deaglan Godwin (SAlt, Students for Palestine), endorsed the motion, asking “why are the supporters of Israel never forced to condemn the atrocities that Israel commits?’
Godwin continued, “We have an obligation to stand on the right side of history, to stand with the oppressed, to stand against apartheid, to stand against genocide…. demand our University cut ties immediately.”
Godwin’s speech was met with a roar of support.
In the Chemistry Building Hall, a speaker from Students Against War (SAW), Midhat Jafri, spoke to the motion: “The University has ties that will not go unless we challenge them. This university is supposed to be a place of innovation, of civil society…. Not where fees are being used to supplement programs where weapons are being used to bomb children in Gaza.”
The second speaker against the motion, Freya Leach, took to the microphone with an Israeli flag draped around her shoulders. Leach stated that “you cannot support human rights and not condemn a radical jihadist terrorist regime” prompting jeers from the crowd.
Rand (Grassroots), SRC Women’s Officer, then spoke in support of Motion 1. Her speech commenced with an Acknowledgement of Country, “always was, always will be Gadigal land”.
Rand stated that the SGM was “a demand for land back, for self-determination, for sovereignty. There are no universities left in Gaza, no schools, no hospitals, no mosques, no churches. There are no gleeful screams of toddlers, running for fun. Only running in fear, running from death.”
This was met with a chorus of “shame” from the crowd.
The final speaker for Motion 1, Yasmine Johnson (SAlt, Students 4 Palestine) then addressed the crowd. Johnson emphasised their connection with the pro-Palestinian movement as a Jewish person and activist.“As a Jewish student I am so proud to stand with all of you and with Palestine”.
Johnson said, “I am proud to watch Jewish activists in America standing up to police and say ‘not in our name’. It is not a project of Judaism or a project of humanity… It is so wonderful to see hundreds of people here in solidarity. We are going to continue to oppose this genocide.”
The Liberal contingent heckled throughout Johnson’s address.
In their right of reply, Bhattarai and Street encouraged the audience to attend future actions, namely the Student strike for Palestine on August 28.
The motion was then taken to a vote. Votes were represented by holding up a pink ballot. Motion 1 carried with an overwhelming majority. A small cluster (Honi counted 5) voted against the motion in the Eastern Avenue Auditorium, along with one person in the Chemistry Building Lecture Hall.
MOTION 2 – One Palestinian State, Affirm the Right to Resist
Motion 2, in support of one Palestinian State and affirming the right to resist, was moved by Jacob Starling and another SAW member. Starling spoke to the motion and stated that the “prospect of ceasefire is nowhere in sight”.
Starling emphasised the University and Australia’s complicity: “Mark Scott knows he is complicit and has introduced the Campus Access Policy to silence us…Leaders like Wong and Albanese use the prospect of the so-called “two state solution” to sanitise their support for Israel.”
The second speaker voiced their support for the motion, stating that “It is important to stress that a two-state solution is not a possibility. Israel never has and never will comply with the two-state solution”. Speaking to the teachings of Edward Said, they emphasised that “it is a fight against colonial dominance.”
A procedural was moved to take an immediate vote. Motion 2 was put to a vote and carried again by majority.
A large contingent of students filed out to Eastern Avenue and marched towards the F23 Michael Spence Building, the location of Vice Chancellor Mark Scott’s office, while chanting: “divest, divest your many many billions. Your profits are covered in the blood of Palestinians”.
“Sydney University we know what side you’re on, remember South Africa, remember Vietnam” rang out across Eastern Avenue as the crowd gathered outside F23.
The proceedings concluded with notice of an upcoming protest for USyd to cut ties with Israel, to be held on Wednesday August 21.
USyd SRC President Harrison Brennan told Honi that this SGM “has set the tone and the agenda of the SRC for the rest of 2024, and into 2025,” especially as the SRC continues “the campaign calling for divestment.” He emphasised “it’s crucial that we build on the momentum […] to build a bigger and better campaign for Palestine.”
When asked about the University’s prior request to ensure student safety at the meeting, Brennan stated, “Every effort was made to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students, and to ensure that attendees complied with the university’s student charter and codes of conduct. With significant time restraints, we also made every effort to ensure students both for and against the motions were given ample opportunity to speak.”
University Response
On Thursday August 8, following the SGM, the University of Sydney released a statement to the university community. “We do not tolerate any pro-terrorist statements or commentary, including support for Hamas,” the statement read, “and any demonstration of support will result in disciplinary action and other possible legal consequences.”
The University dismissed the volume of crowds that amassed for the SGM as “less than one percent of our student population.” They went on to declare that “student representative and student-led groups are independent of the University and certainly don’t represent our institutional position nor do they represent the majority of our student body.”
This statement seemingly conflicts with the University’s own position (published on their website), which describes the SRC as a “student-run body that represents your rights and interests.”
The University also announced that it is “investigating reports of inappropriate conduct at the meeting, and has sought police advice on the legality of certain material used to promote the event.”
“Our utmost priority is that our students and staff feel safe on campus,” the statement continues, “this is why we introduced the Campus Access Policy 2024 which provides clearer information about our expectations and requirements of conduct on campus.”
SRC President Harrison Brennan emphasised the success of the SGM. Brennan told Honi that the outcome was “absolutely spectacular”, and asserted that the SGM “paints a clear picture of the overwhelming student support for Palestine, given the shockingly large turnout, and shows the palpable support for our movement calling for freedom, justice and equality from the river to the sea.”
