The University of Sydney senate has backed the introduction of a new “civility rule” requiring speakers to “make the meaning of contested words and phrases clear to the audience” and to maintain its strict ban on protests in buildings, prompting accusations it is curbing freedom of speech.
The external review into the university’s policies and processes, led by the barrister Bruce Hodgkinson SC, was commissioned after the disbanding of the university’s long-running pro-Palestine encampment in July.
The Hodgkinson External Review recommendations were agreed to in principle by the university’s senate on Tuesday evening – a panel including the vice-chancellor, Mark Scott, appointed external fellows and university staff and students.
“The report proposes that the University implement a new civility rule that requires any speaker using University facilities to make the meaning of contested words and phrases clear to the audience,” the recommendations read.
“A failure to conduct a lecture, seminar, tutorial or a meeting which takes place within any of the University’s facilities in accordance with the New Civility Rule should be recognised as misconduct and treated accordingly.”
The review said the recommendations should apply to “any speaker using University facilities” but did not specify if that was limited to organised events or whether it extended to academic settings and informal gatherings of students.
Another of the recommendations advises “the University prohibit any student from addressing those present in a lecture, seminar or tutorial prior to the commencement of the lecture, seminar or tutorial on any subject matter. A breach of the prohibition may be considered misconduct.”
It also recommended: “The University should approach both the NSW Police and the Federal Police with a view to entering into with them formal protocols which set out how they can assist the University if the need arises” and that “attaching banners to the footbridges be prohibited”.
The president of the Student Representative Council (SRC), Harrison Brennan, said the measures would result in “extremely scary” restrictions on university life.
He said one recommendation, which warned university organisations could have their entire funding cut if they failed to abide by the new principles, would place the SRC, clubs and societies at risk.
“We help thousands of students each year with casework and legal matters,” he said. “It’s entirely absurd to defund the SRC, this is muzzling us and any students dissatisfied with how the university is operating.
“When clubs and societies want to advertise events, as per policy, they could get accused of misconduct for giving announcements.”
The chancellor of the University of Sydney, David Thodey, wrote to staff on Wednesday confirming the senate had accepted the recommendations of the report in principle and tasked the university executive with consultation and delivery.
Thodey said the university was “not immune” to the challenges of rising levels of racism, intolerance and polarisation facing broader society.
“As vice-chancellor professor Mark Scott has said, this makes it more important than ever that we foster a safe environment where diverse views can be explored through civil debate,” he wrote.
Scott has faced calls to resign from pro-Israel groups and the Coalition over the university’s handling of the pro-Palestinian encampment in recent months, though the Executive Council of Australian Jewry had warned that cultural change would not flow from “a change at the top”.
Speaking today about the recommendations, its co-chief executive, Peter Wertheim, called them “overall welcome, including maintaining the ban on encampments and prohibiting activists from commandeering lectures and tutorials and university spaces in order to impose their views on others”.
But the recommendations needed to go further, he said, suggesting that “those who administer the complaints process need to undergo regular training”.
Speaking after the committee heard the University of Sydney was one of the “worst places” to be a Jewish student, Scott said he had “never encountered an issue that’s generated more anguish or grief or anger” as the events of, and after, 7 October.
A Senate inquiry into antisemitism on university campuses received dozens of submissions from staff and students voicing concern over the University of Sydney’s leadership during the encampments, prompting the vice-chancellor to issue an apology when he attended a hearing in September.
In a statement, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students called the Hodgkinson recommendations a “positive step towards addressing the trust lost over the last 13 months”, adding the group hopes “it will lead to a meaningful reduction in [alleged] antisemitism at Sydney University”.
“We look forward to the University demonstrating their commitment to rebuilding this trust through full implementation of the recommendations.”
Sarah Schwartz, a legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the Hodgkinson Review’s recommendations “risk making the University of Sydney one of the most restrictive university campuses for peaceful protest and free speech in the country”.
“We hold particular concerns about the incredibly broad and ill-defined ‘civility rule’,” she said.
In addition, Schwartz expressed concerns about “the impact of such a rule on staff and students from racialised backgrounds, who are more likely to be perceived as ‘offensive’ or ‘uncivil’”.
The National Tertiary Education Union president, Dr Alison Barnes, said if implemented, the measures would have a “chilling effect” on all protests, including union activity.
“University leaders need to stand up against this sort of heavy-handed approach,” she said.
David Brophy, a senior history lecturer at the University of Sydney, said the review’s proposals banned “basic forms of political expression on campus”.
He said the new civility rule caused particular concern, appearing “utterly bizarre and unworkable”.
“Are academics really expected to explain the context of every word and phrase they use?” he said. “A vague rule like this will most likely be wielded selectively against those who speak up for Palestine.”
A University of Sydney spokesperson said it would take time to consider the report’s recommendations and consult the community “to build on the progress we’ve made to make our campuses safe and welcoming for all”.
Hodgkinson was approached for comment.
