La Trobe uni protesters pack up camp after discipline threat
Students for Palestine La Trobe have become the second group to tear down its encampment, after the university threatened to discipline protesters with student misconduct.
The group shared to social media on Tuesday afternoon it was “forced” to shut the camp at the Bundoora campus or else students would be penalised for not complying with university orders.
Protesters were first asked on Friday to pack up the tents by Sunday “in the interests of the safety, wellbeing and amenity of all campus users and visitors”.
The group chose to disobey this directive and was then threatened with misconduct proceedings by the university.
“On Friday, the uni issued a directive to our peaceful encampment for Palestine to dismantle within 48 hours,” Students for Palestine La Trobe posted to social media.
“Since then they have moved to discipline student activists and are threatening more students. They have also threatened to use security to smash up our peaceful protest camp.”
Pictures taken on Tuesday afternoon show protesters slowly dismantling tents and rolling up tarps which were donated to them, in a move “welcomed” by the university.
“Following our second directive (20 May) to disband the encampment at our Melbourne (Bundoora) campus for health and safety reasons, the protesters have commenced disbanding the encampment. We welcome these developments,” a La Trobe University spokeswoman said. “We continue to accommodate the right of students and staff to protest peacefully, safely and respectfully but without an encampment.”
The disbandment of the encampment at La Trobe comes four days after protesters at Monash University packed up their camp. There are still encampments at the University of Melbourne, RMIT and Deakin University.