Australia¡¯s oldest university has doubled down on policies that restrict protests and other forms of student activism, as administrators strive to balance rights to free expression with safety.

The University of Sydney has pressed ahead with five ¡°¡± drafted on the recommendation of eminent barrister Bruce Hodgkinson, following a review sparked by pro-Palestinian encampments in 2024.

They include a ban on student announcements before classes ¨C a time-honoured practice known as ¡°lecture bashing¡± ¨C with non-course related pronouncements now only permitted at the conclusion of lectures or tutorials, and students and academics under no obligation to hang around.

Banners and pamphlets can only be posted on notice boards or other ¡°designated¡± places ¨C which exclude trees, posts, footpaths, fences, railings or walls ¨C and prior approval is needed before posters can be attached to buildings or ¡°fixtures¡±.

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Sydney¡¯s Central Operations Services staff can remove any paraphernalia?that contravenes the new??or any other university code, or which jeopardises people¡¯s safety by constituting a ¡°psychosocial hazard¡±.

Paint can only be used on the walls of a ¡°graffiti tunnel¡± under a building that houses the university¡¯s pharmacy labs. Chalking is allowed only on footpaths and roadways well away from the university¡¯s iconic Quadrangle, using sticks of chalk that can be removed with water.

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An updated??has also maintained a ban on indoor protests. ¡°Demonstrations must be held in open spaces,¡± it says.

The university said it had ¡°read and considered¡± every submission it had received since launching consultations on the draft statutes in January. ¡°These policies balance our commitments to campus safety with those to academic freedom and freedom of speech and set clear standards for what is and isn¡¯t acceptable,¡± vice-chancellor Mark Scott said in an email to students.

¡°We want to be a place¡­where everyone feels safe to be themselves no matter their religion, gender, sexuality, race or ability. In a world of increased conflict and polarisation, that can be challenging.¡±

Critics believe university administrators are??to browbeat students into toning down what would previously have been considered?acceptable modes of protest, after pro-Palestinian activists were?accused of antisemitism.

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The University of Melbourne has also doubled down on its?ban on indoor protests, instituted by new vice-chancellor Emma Johnston in March, saying safety is ¡°integral to enabling free and open debate¡±.

¡°The university respects the rights of individuals to protest [but]¡­it¡¯s our responsibility to respond to any actions that may intimidate or threaten the safety of students and staff on our campuses,¡± Johnston said.

A university source said some students had claimed to ¡°feel safer¡± since the new rule came into force, while others had ¡°sought further clarification¡± on how it applied. But the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) said it was ¡°outraged¡± at Melbourne¡¯s move to suspend or expel four students who occupied the office of a?physics professor?with ties to Israeli universities, during demonstrations last October.

Liz Strakosch, acting academic vice-president of NTEU¡¯s Melbourne branch, said Johnston was compromising the university¡¯s public mission by conflating safety with comfort. ¡°We reject the use of the language of staff safety and antiracism to justify the punishment of students who are speaking up against Israel¡¯s mass killing and starvation in Gaza,¡± Strakosch said.

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¡°Staff and students are intimidated, and increasingly unable to exercise their academic and political freedom.¡±

The university said it could not comment on individual student disciplinary processes, citing confidentiality obligations, but insisted that it had ¡°followed its disciplinary processes¡± and students had the right to appeal.

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Meanwhile, Monash University has walked back a ban on students sullying its reputation. A February version of the institution¡¯s Student Code of Conduct outlawed behaviour that could ¡°adversely affect Monash¡¯s operations, facilities, resources, reputation or environments¡±. The word ¡°reputation¡± was??in May.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com