Letter on Sydney Uni protests - Mark Scott AO, Vice Chancellor and President
Published 02 May 2024
The letter below is from Mark Scott AO, Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney.
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Dear Ms Sloane,
Thank you very much for your letter. The University of Sydney appreciates your strong advocacy for your constituents.
I give you my strongest assurance that the safety, health and wellbeing of our students and staff is always my highest priority as Vice-Chancellor, and I am committed to ensuring that our campuses continue to be a welcoming and safe space for all.
As a public institution, the University has always served as a forum for education and debate. A wide range of views and perspectives exist among our community, and we remain absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom, in accordance with the law and our own policies and codes of conduct that apply to our students, staff, and affiliates. We will not tolerate any form of racism, threats to safety, hate speech, intimidation, threatening speech, bullying or unlawful harassment on our campuses.
We have always welcomed the public, including families and their children, onto our iconic campus but parents or carers are responsible for decisions relating to their children and all visitors must abide by the law and our campus access rule.
As I have stated publicly, the event last week involving children was in no way an official University of Sydney event and was led by a speaker who was not from the University. As I said, I was shocked by it and acknowledge how deeply distressing the event was for some members of our community.
Indeed, these are traumatic times and it is our sincerest hope that there is a speedy resolution and a sustainable peace in the Middle East. But, for now, many issues that are the subject of current general community discourse and debate, including on our campus, will of themselves be upsetting and unsettling for some of our staff and students as well as members of the wider community – as is the case across Australia and around the world.
In this very challenging environment, we realise that it’s more important than ever that our campuses are welcoming and safe for all students, staff and visitors. Be assured that we have increased our security profile across campus as a precautionary measure and our protective services team is operating 24/7. If students or staff feel unsafe at any time while on campus, or they are concerned for someone else's safety, they can call Campus Security on +61 2 9351 3333 or 1800 SYD HLP (1800 793 457), 24 hours a day. We have communicated to students that special consideration and arrangements may be available to them, and that wellbeing support, including free and confidential counselling, is available to them 24/7.
With regards to other recent events, including the current protest encampment, please know that where there are grounds for us to consider that there has been a breach of our Student Charter, Code of Conduct or University policy, we will take appropriate action consistent with our policies and the law.
We are carefully monitoring the gathering at our Quadrangle in line with our crowd management protocols to ensure a safe environment for our community. We are actively engaging with the protestors in a civil and peaceful manner and support their right to express their views in a safe, respectful and legal manner.
Thank you again for your correspondence.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Scott
Mark Scott AO | Vice-Chancellor and President
The University of Sydney
Office of the Vice-Chancellor and President
The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006