Paul Ferris & James Robertson, Sydney
On March 16, Sydney University played host to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who spoke to a crowd of select students and members of the university administration at the Conservatorium of Music (the "Con"). Up to 80 students, who felt that the visit by a key supporter of the war had to be met with resistance, gathered with less than 24 hours' notice to protest Rice's presence.
Rice is one of the key figures within the Bush administration, named by Forbes magazine as the most powerful woman in the world. In both her current role and until 2005 as National Security Advisor, Rice has been directly involved in the US invasion of Iraq. This invasion and ongoing occupation has resulted in the death of up to 180,000 innocent Iraqis, an occupation Rice insists on continuing in the name of "democracy", despite the fact that 80% of Iraqis demand an immediate withdrawal of US (and Australian) troops.
By 1pm, 40 students had gathered outside the Con, already cordoned off by police. Rather than the usual mix of musos and academics, the campus was instead overrun by riot police, horses and dog squads. Numbers swelled as protesters were joined by Con students, kicked off their campus to make way for Rice. Protesters linked arms, chanted anti-war slogans and peacefully made it known that the university was a student space, not one for Rice and her warmongering agenda.
Things heated up when Piers Akerman from the Daily Telegraph attempted to break his way through the student line, despite the fact that many others had managed to enter the Con by simply walking around the picket line. This was the excuse the police needed. They surged into the protest, knocking over students and forcing them back by 20 metres. Several students were reportedly punched by officers. Six students were arrested, including two students from the Con, one of whom was on crutches at the protest, and another who showed her dissent simply by dancing.
Inside, all was not quiet either, with three students ejected from the hall for heckling. Rice's response was to claim she was glad to see democracy alive and well at Australian universities, and that it "is now alive at the ... university of Baghdad as well", despite those students voicing their opinion at the event being silenced.
Students have consistently expressed their opposition to the Iraq war, and yet Sydney University sees it appropriate to play host to Rice. Over the past decade, the vice-chancellor Gavin Brown has become progressively more dismissive of student opinions. Those students who oppose his vision for the university are met not with dialogue, but police.
The events on March 16 highlight the need to fight "voluntary student unionism" (VSU). In a political atmosphere where police do not hesitate to violently silence voices of dissent within the community, it is only through collective strength that students can have any influence. We as students need the student representative council (SRC), the only body that actually represents our interests, to make sure that the university exists for the benefit of students — not for Rice and not for any other pro-war propagandist.
[Paul Ferris and James Robertson are Sydney University activists.]
From Green Left Weekly, March 22, 2006.
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