Murdoch Vice Chancellor joins student #LetThemStay action

Murdoch University's Acting Vice Chancellor, Andrew Taggart, joined a student #LetThemStay action on March 3 after controversial actions by university administration the previous week.

Over 50 students and staff joined the March 3 #LetThemStay photo shoot on the main clubs and societies day at the beginning of semester.

Whereas last week, the tertiary education union NTEU protested that uni management had tried to censor an academic's support for a similar student action on February 24, the latest action was attended by Taggart and tweeted by the university's official account.

The university has also affirmed its support for academic freedom and free speech.

Students for Refugees organised the February 24 and March 3 actions. Resistance: Young Socialist Alliance has supported these actions and organised a photo petition at Murdoch uni on February 22.

Murdoch university rents space to Serco - a private company which is notorious for running immigration detention centres and is complicit in the human rights abuses that take place within them. The university's ongoing association with Serco is controversial to student activists and is sure to be a focus for student activism this semester.





[This article by Alex Bainbridge was first published in Green Left Weekly online on March 3, 2016.]