Earlier today, I wrote how Student Representative Council shot down a motion to delete Habibah Jaghoori’s vile “Death to Israel” article for their student paper On Dit, and have her apologize.
Since writing the post, there have been a few developments.
Firstly, I received the following email from the University of Adelaide’s Director of Media and Communications:
Hi David,
Thank you for your email.
The following can be attributed to a University of Adelaide spokesperson:
STARTS
On Dit is a student publication controlled by elected student editors who have independent editorial responsibility for its content.
The views expressed in the article For Palestine there is no ceasefire are not the views of the University.
The article has been placed under review by the online platform.
The University is committed to safety and inclusion for all members of our community. The University deplores religious and racial discrimination including anti-Semitism.
University leadership have spoken with the President of YouX (student union) who is supportive of the concerns raised about the article and will raise these directly with the On Dit editorial team with a view to establishing better editorial practices in the future.
Like other higher education institutions, the University of Adelaide’s protection of academic freedom and lawful freedom of speech is reflected in its Freedom of Speech Policy.
We are committed to treating others in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. All members of the University community have a fundamental right to feel safe from discrimination and persecution, and to feel welcome and respected on our campuses.
This article has led to some members of our community feeling vilified and unsafe. The University has reached out to students who have expressed concern and continues to offer support.
The University continues to work to provide a safe and respectful environment for all members of our community.
ENDS
Kind regards,
Elisa
Again, I feel this is wishy-washy and designed to placate those of us who are really concerned about the incitement of the article. Furthermore, I am not hopeful regarding University leadership having “spoken with the President of YouX (student union) who is supportive of the concerns raised about the article and will raise these directly with the On Dit editorial team with a view to establishing better editorial practices in the future.”
If you saw video of the student council meeting in my previous post, it should be clear why I am not hopeful.
Which leads me to the second development. On Dit have doubled down on the article after Medium – the platform on which it was originally published – took it down. They posted the following on Facebook, including screenshots of the entire article.
Adelaide University needs to take a stronger stand against this incitement, no buts about it.
