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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
Steve Evans

ANU warns protesters: don't disrupt exams - or else

The ANU is warning protesters that if they do anything which disrupts exams, they will face action from the university authorities and, if that doesn't work, from the police.

That disruption could include chanting outside halls where the first of 37,000 exam sittings started on Thursday.

Outsiders would be barred from the campus if they disrupted exams.

"Members of the wider community who disrupt or impede exams and assessments will be given a lawful and reasonable direction to leave the campus," the ANU's deputy vice-chancellor Grady Venville said on the university website.

"These exams represent the culmination of a semester's worth of hard work, study and dedication by ANU students," Professor Venville said.

"Many of our students are sitting their final exams for their university degrees. During this period, I'm reminding everyone in our community to respect the needs of students sitting exams.This includes ANU staff and students protesting on the University's campus."

Protesters rallied after their forced move on Tuesday. Picture by Karleen Minney

The university leadership fears that disruptive protests will continue even though the protesters moved their camp late on Monday night from the centre of the campus to a less prominent site approved by the ANU authorities.

The authorities are now worried about disruption by non-university outsiders.

It was noticeable on Tuesday that the rally on the lawn from which the camp had moved was made up of students but also a significant body of union activists who were not studying at the university. One pro-Palestinian protester said he was dismayed at the lack of Palestinian flags there.

Some Greens politicians, including MLA Emma Davidson, were there wearing a Palestinian scarf known as a keffiyeh.

Greens MLA Emma Davidson (right) at the rally after the camp moved. Picture by Karleen Minney

After the camp moved under threat of the arrest of protesters by police, Professor Venville wrote to the university's staff and students.

"I want to personally thank the encampment participants for working with us and ACT Policing to ensure the safety of everyone in our busiest precinct on campus as well as our broader community," she said.

"ANU has also invited protestors to genuine and open dialogue about their demands, in particular ones that the University can reasonably consider.

"This includes looking at our investments as a university and our sector-leading socially responsible investment policy."

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