Students rally for representation

Wednesday, May 15, 1996 - 10:00

Kathy Newnam

BRISBANE — Three hundred students rallied at the University of Queensland on May 9, demanding proper representation by the Liberal-run student union. In response, 60 police were called onto the campus, eight students were arrested and 16 security guards have subsequently been hired by the union to guard access to the union building.

The rally followed the forcible removal, in the early hours of May 8, of 10 students who were occupying the union offices. The students had stormed the office on April 30 and occupied it for eight days.

When the May 9 rally attempted to present a petition to the union president, Jody Thompson, police and security prevented the students from entering the offices and arrested one person. The rally then decided to march to the vice chancellor's office to protest against the police presence on campus. It was there that seven more students were arrested. The eight will appear in court on May 23.

After the rally, 60 students met to discuss the future of the campaign. Students for a Democratic University (formerly Students for a Democratic Union) decided on four main demands for the campaign: no cops on campus; books not bureaucrats in the undergraduate library; fight cuts to education; and representation or resignation.

Resistance activist Nicole Kamp told Green Left, "The closure of UQ's undergraduate library exemplifies the way our education system is going. It is already underfunded and the proposed cuts to higher education spending in the August budget will mean a further decline in the quality and accessibility of education."

In addition, she said, education is rapidly being tailored to suit the needs of industry. "Courses not useful for big business are being rationalised. Already the Russian department at UQ has been cut.

"At the moment our student union is run by people who support these attacks on education and students' rights. Fighting for a democratic union is part of the broader campaign against the Liberals' agenda in higher education", she said.

The campaign has now collected sufficient signatures on a petition to force a student general meeting at which it hopes to pass a motion of no confidence in the current union executive.