In a victory for student activism, La Trobe University has backed down from its attempts to punish students who organised protests on campus last year.

In opposition to a planned $10 million of cuts to the humanities faculty, students organised a campaign that included mass staff and student meetings, rallies and occupations on campus. This campaign forced the university to back down from some of the cuts it wanted to make, the final cuts amounting to $5 million. This all occurred whilst the university as a whole was making in excess of $20 million profit.

In response to this display of student activism, the administration singled out three students and called them before secretive and undemocratic disciplinary hearings earlier this year. At the hearings, at which we were denied the right to legal representation, the students faced expulsion. 

As soon as it was announced that the university was trying to discipline us, we launched a defence campaign. Student unions across the county, which recognised that what La Trobe was trying to do was outrageous, passed motions in support of us and our right to protest on campus. We held meetings to talk about what was going on and put pressure on the university. This resulted in the university backing down from expulsions and suspending only one of us. 

The reasons given for my suspension included that I had “brought the reputation of the University into disrepute”, and also, based on no evidence at all, that I had broken the ribs of a security guard. It was also found that, as someone identified as an organiser of the protests, I could be held responsible for the actions of every single participant in them. The aim of this suspension was quite clearly to discourage me and all La Trobe students from protesting on campus.

Being punished for organising protests on campus is outrageous, so I appealed against the decision, citing an extreme lack of evidence that I had done anything wrong, and asserting our legally protected right to protest on campus.

A university appeals committee has now found in my favour, and my suspension has been lifted. The committee confirmed that students have a right to protest on campus, and that it was incorrect that I be suspended for exercising this right. Organising a protest cannot be considered an offence at La Trobe.

This result shows that we were right, not only to protest against the planned cuts to our education but also to fight against their attempts to punish us and outlaw protest on campus.