Uni can be a place of protest but not a home for hate

I go to a lot of meetings in this job but there are some I’ll never forget.

One was just a few weeks ago at Central Shule. I asked the Jewish Community Council of Victoria to connect me with some young mums and women students from the community to have a talk about respect and safety in Victoria.

As it turns out, I didn’t do much of the talking. I listened, as a young queer woman told me she and her partner suffered antisemitic abuse – in all places – at Melbourne’s wonderful Pride festival.

I listened as a uni student told me her peers have learned to “dilute our identity as young Jewish Australians” just to be included and stay involved in campus life. And I listened to a young woman tearfully tell me she was abused by a member of the public while she was with her family and trying to seek emergency medical care.

There were many more confronting stories, all of them involving people who were just going about their day in peace.

I was very quiet on the drive back to the office after that meeting. I kept thinking about those stories over and over. And when I first heard the reports of escalating tensions on universities around Australia, those stories came flooding back to me again.

I don’t want these kinds of incidents repeated anywhere on our campuses – or anywhere in our state. I’m calling on everyone to be vigilant, and I’m calling on everyone to remember the awful weight of particular words and actions. Above all, I’m calling for calm.

Universities can be a place of protest: there has always been activism on campuses and there always will be. Everyone in Victoria has a right to gather for a cause they believe in. But it absolutely must be done respectfully. It absolutely must be done safely.

And it absolutely can’t involve behaviour that is antisemitic. It can’t involve behaviour that makes students feel unwelcome to come onto campus and learn – to meet new people and enrich their minds with new ideas. And it can’t involve behaviour that makes Victorians feel unsafe.

I will always stand up for that – because safety, dignity and respect for people of all backgrounds is in my DNA. It’s who I am, it’s why I’m in public office, and it’s why I’m calling for calm.

I’m relieved to know Victoria Police are working with universities, who already have a range of tools available to them to manage the situation on site.

We know there is no one-size-fits-all solution because every cohort is different – and we thank universities who are trying to manage a delicate situation. The Victorian Government will always support steps that aim to de-escalate violence and prevent hate.

I thank Jewish Community leaders who have given sensible messages of advice to Jewish students about personal safety and de-escalation. I also thank those in the Islamic community who are speaking up for cohesion and peace in Victoria while dealing with heartbreak of their own.

Finally, I want to thank the young women who spoke to me at Central Shule that morning. In telling their stories and expressing their feelings, they continue to help me find the right words to express my own.

Like all Victorians, they each deserve a cohesive society where they can go to uni, raise their kids, and simply go about their day in peace – and I’m determined to fight for it.

Jacinta Allan is the Premier of Victoria.

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