USYD vice-chancellor grilled on October 7 response amid anti-Semitism surge on campuses

[Pelican Press 0]

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USYD vice-chancellor grilled on October 7 response amid anti-Semitism surge on campuses

Embattled University of Sydney vice chancellor Mark Scott has been grilled on his response to ******’ brutal October 7 ********** attacks in ******* amid a spike in anti-Semitism on *********** campuses.

Fronting a parliamentary committee on Friday, Mr Scott struggled to give any details of meetings he had with ******* students in the wake of last year’s attacks, which represent the worst loss of ******* life since the Holocaust.

“If you haven’t met with them, it’s OK,” committee chair Josh Burns said after Mr Scott gave vague answers about his efforts to personally contact ******* students.

Camera IconUSYD vice-chancellor Mark Scott insists he reached out to ******* students following the October 7 ********** attacks in *******. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia

Mr Scott insisted he had held meetings and asked to double check “the timing”.

“Do you think months, maybe? Weeks?” Mr Burns pressed on.

But Mr Scott again said he wanted to check the detail.

“It doesn’t sound like that after October 7 there was a concerted effort for you personally to reach out to ******* students on campus,” Mr Burns said.

“That seems like something you would remember.”

Mr Scott disagreed, saying USYD tried identifying ******** and ************ students despite gaps in data and “reached out and connected”.

He then recounted a dinner he had with students at a ******* residential college seven days after ******’ ********.

“I had a meeting at Mandelbaum House, as I recall, on the 14th of October at dinner,” Mr Scott said.

“After that dinner finished, we had a roundtable discussion with ******* students there, informally, talking with them about their experiences at the university for about an hour, as I recall.”

Camera IconLabor MP Josh Burns grilled Mr Scott on his response to the October 7 ********** attacks in *******. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia

Mr Scott has previously drawn heat for how his university handled pro-Palestine student encampments earlier this year.

Students pitched tents on the lawns of USYD and other major universities as part of demonstrations protesting *******’s military action in Gaza.

Anti-Semitic chants such as “from the river to the sea” often burst from the student encampments, which coincided with a surge in reports of anti-Semitic behaviour toward ******* students and staff.

******, which runs Gaza, ******* at least 1200 people in its October 7 attacks last year, inflicting the worst loss of ******* life since the Holocaust.

The ensuing ******** ground and air ******** has ******* upward of 40,000 people in Gaza and annihilated much of ******’ upper echelon.

Camera IconStudents pitched tents on the lawns of USYD as part of demonstrations protesting *******’s military action in Gaza. NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers Credit: News Corp Australia

In his opening remarks on Friday, Mr Scott admitted the university “did not get everything right” in its response to the encampments.

“Since the horrific attacks of October 7 and through the ongoing and harrowing war in Gaza, universities around the world have grappled with the impact of these disruptive events on their students and staff and the distress triggered across university communities by passionately held oppositional views,” he said.

“As I’ve said in previous hearings before parliament, at The University of Sydney, we did not get everything right, and there are clearly differing review, differing views and our responses to certain events, particularly the encampment earlier this year.

“What we have committed to do is learn from these hugely challenging and complex events and the experiences of other universities around the world and to listen to those who would work with us to ensure our campuses are safe and welcoming for all.”

Mr Scott also said USYD “has accepted all 15 recommendations in principle” made by an independent probe into anti-Semitism at the university.

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