Academics welcomes the University of Sydney external review
The Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism (5A) has welcomed all 15 recommendations made by Bruce Hodgkinson’s University of Sydney External Review Report.
In a statement the alliance said it is confident that implementing the proposed civility rules will enable the University of Sydney to once again fulfill its duties as an academic institution that fosters scholarly debate across ideological divides.
It states: “These measures will ensure that free speech is exercised to its fullest potential—promoting genuine dialogue, as well as protecting against the abuse and weaponisation of free speech as a means to suppress opposing viewpoints and transform universities into war zones dominated by vocal gangs—a scene repeatedly witnessed over the past year.
The Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism (5A) has 230 members, representing 26 Australian universities. Rhe report follows a serious spate of antisemitism within the university.
The Alliance also welcomed the recommendation to hold students and academic organisations accountable for their actions, including posting of imagery and posters across campus.
It further noted: “The vandalization of public spaces and the liberties some organisations have taken—seizing spaces and time that are not theirs to loudly and forcefully disrupt students and academics as they pursue their daily academic work—must be stopped.”
The members want the university to “restore civility” and wants to stop the “misuse the notion of free speech as a tool for harassment”.
They are calling for the university to start the process of healing “by removing one-sided coursework materials that constitute propaganda and restoring classroom lectures to their rightful purpose: spaces where contested ideas are critically discussed. This healing process must also involve educating students and staff to respect diverse ideologies, and to create dedicated spaces for civil and scholarly academic discourse.”
