Omar Hassan is the Education (public affairs) officer for Monash University's student union. He is also a member of Students for Palestine. On March 31, the Monash Student Council (MSC) sanctioned Hassan for his involvement in the group.
Students for Palestine is campaigning for Palestinian self-determination and an end of Israel's method of control via an apartheid model. On March 30, more than 200 students joined Students for Palestine on the campus's Menzies lawn to launch Palestine Solidarity Week.
The MSC passed two motions. The first was to suspend Hassan's weekly income of $340 for two weeks. The second motion stated "for the sake of absolute clarity", the MSC "does not recognise the task of coordinating campaigns regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, as within the duties of the Education (Public Affairs) officers".
This action by the MSC followed moves by the university administration to pressure Hassan about his involvement in such campaigns.
Monash chancellor Alan Finkel rang the Monash Student Association president Julian Campbell and told him that it is unconstitutional for elected student union representatives to help run campaigns like Students for Palestine.
Hassan said that "it is disgraceful that the chancellor of Monash University feels that he has the right to silence elected student representatives.
"Student unions must have the freedom to run whatever campaigns we determine are relevant to our members. The university cannot and should not intrude into student union matters", Hassan said. He added that this underscores the unfortunate reality that "voluntary student unionism" cannot guarantee "independent political representation for students".
Not only does this sanction constitute a silencing of the student voice, it also illustrates a lack of commitment to quality education. Freedom of speech, apart from being a basic human right, enables students to engage in issues critically.
Critical engagement is an integral part of the learning process. It is the method by which students can formulate independent opinions, upon which discussions are based. Discussion then allows students to learn from each other.
The pressure from Finkel, which resulted in Hassan's voice being silenced by the student council, undermines these fundamental mechanisms of education.
Hassan's involvement in Students for Palestine, on the other hand, is an example that our education officer is taking the lead in good educational practice — critical engagement with important issues.