“VC Bell rot in hell, take your weapons there as well.” Protestors chanted as they marched on the Chancelry. Photo: Nicholas Ward.
ANU Students from Save Our Studies voted to blockade the Vice-Chancellor’s offices this week as part of their “Day of Rage” protest against the university’s ongoing cuts.
The group had demanded a response from the university late last month, warning they would escalate protests if they did not hear back.
According to the protestors, the administration has refused to engage with them at all.
The Day of Rage marked the first step in their promised escalation. Protestors marched from University Avenue to the Chancelry Building, chanting slogans calling for an end to cuts, and for the institution to get rid of VC Genevieve Bell and Chancellor Julie Bishop.
Sociology honours student Pippa Newman, who was at the front of the march, said that the protests would keep escalating until the university responded.
“We basically pledged to escalate our actions today if we didn’t hear back from them by August 7, and we haven’t had anything from the university,” she said.
“We want to disrupt business as usual at the university, make it very clear that we’re here and we’re here to say, and this is the sort of action that we’ll be continuing to do if ANU continues as they’re going and they don’t stop the cuts.”
ANU protesters have vowed to escalate their actions until the university responds. (Left to right: Elliane Boulton, Elian Dears, Dash Ridley Griffiths, Remi Prica, Pippa Newman and Beatrice Tucker.) Photo Nicholas Ward.
Maya and Zoe were two banner carriers who brought up the rear. They said they were marching not just against cuts but also against the militarisation of university research.
Maya said she believed that the university was losing its way.
“We’re seeing course cuts all across the university, and teachers and friends have been losing their jobs, and also we’re fighting the militarisation and corporatisation at the university as well,” said Maya.
Her friend Zoe said gutting the university wouldn’t be in the best interest of Australia, and that for many, the education they had come to the ANU for was no longer on offer.
“The major that I was promised when I started this degree is now crumbling, being wrenched away from me … if these cuts go ahead, I won’t be able to do the courses that I had planned to do,” said Zoe.
Once at the Chancelry, students shouted slogans and gave speeches calling for a sit-in of the building until the administration came to the table.
By a show of hands, they voted to blockade the building, in the hopes of bringing the administration to the table.
Around 70 students took part in the march, but not everyone joined the sit-in. Those who did were confident that they could eventually force the university to the bargaining table.
Philosophy student Finnian Colwell, who gave an impassioned speech at the Chancelry, said he hopes the protests can channel the energy of successful demonstrations in the past.
“We’ve tried to make sure the Vice Chancellor listens to reason. Ninety-three per cent of staff voted no confidence in Genevieve Bell, but she’s shown that she’s willing to just destroy lives,” he said.
“We have a long way to go before we can match the energy that the students in the ’70s had. But I think that the crisis of the political situation we’re in right now means that there is a real opportunity to fight back against what’s happening.”
After the main protest event wound down, protestors held a “teach-in” for the rest of the day, with speeches, screen printing, musical performances and banner painting.
The wide-ranging austerity program initiated by Vice Chancellor Bell to tackle the university’s growing deficit has proved controversial, with students, faculty, and some politicians coming out against the cuts.
The protests come as senior executives and academics at the university have been called before a Senate inquiry into university governance.
For the protestors, the message is clear: the university is going in the wrong direction.
”This isn’t the first time we have fought back against cuts at this university, and we are committed to disrupting business as usual at the university until management and the government accede to our demands,” Pippa said, summing up the attitude of the students.
