Alex Bainbridge, Sydney

More than 200 students gathered on March 23 to support an orchestra strike at Sydney University’s Conservatorium of Music (“the Con”). The protest was called over the administration’s handling of the visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice the week before.

Many students had not been notified about Rice’s visit and arrived to find armed police patrolling the rooftops and grounds. Many could not access their classes or were asked to leave the campus.

At the 150-strong protest against Rice’s visit, two Con students were among five protesters charged by police. (A third Con student — on crutches — was arrested but released without charge.)

According to Con student Rishin Singh, who participated in the protest, students were angry that “Condi was invited to Sydney to put a glamorous face on the occupation [of Iraq] while students were deliberately not told, and then on top of that assaulted [by police] and arrested”. Dave Jackson, one of those arrested, told Green Left Weekly: “The state authorities are accusing us of being criminals when in reality we were exercising our right to freedom of speech to protest against a war criminal who the police were protecting.”

Students particularly wanted the conservatorium’s dean, Kim Walker, to call for the charges to be dropped. Walker addressed students at the March 23 meeting but declined to make any such statement. Instead, she manoeuvered to take over the meeting and direct student anger to behind-closed-doors meetings.

From Green Left Weekly, March 29, 2006.
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