The Australian: Safe space protest ends in eviction [September 01,
2004]



Safe space protest ends in eviction
Brendan O'Keefe
September 01, 2004

THREE Wollongong University students campaigning for a safer space for gays on campus have described as "overkill" an operation by 10 armed riot police to eject them from a room they had occupied for 47 hours.

The students, the remainder of an original group of 16 who entered a booked function room on Thursday and locked it down hours later, were evicted on Saturday afternoon.

Spokeswoman Annaliese Constable told the HES that about 20 officers, including armed riot squad police, members of the police rescue squad and regular police officers either burst into the Belmore Room or were on hand outside to arrest the three.

Ms Constable and two others, Daniel Brown and Dominika Grossy, were charged with trespass.

A university spokesman said the eviction was a "hygiene issue".

"If it was a hygiene issue, why didn't they send up a bar of soap?" Ms Constable said.

The students, from the Allsorts gay and lesbian group, had been campaigning for "a couple of years" with letters to and meetings with the university for a safe space on campus.

Once inside the Belmore room, the students declared it their space.

Their present room is off-campus and is not patrolled by university security. It is prone to flooding and rainwater runs down internal walls near powerpoints.

Earlier this year, a female student was trapped in the queer space by a man who blocked the door with his bike and threatened to "burn the woman to death" for being a lesbian, Allsorts said in a statement.

The students want the university to move them on to campus and to provide security patrols and better health and safety standards.

Mr Brown, queer delegate on the Students Representative Council, said of the raid: "It was total overkill. We had 10 armed riot police with helmets and shields burst into the room. I was totally and utterly speechless and shocked.

"The fact that a peaceful student protest was burst into by 10 riot police ... we were leaning against the door and getting smashed against it. The police were totally high on adrenalin and quite aggressive."

Mr Brown said he was frisked twice and that Ms Constable and Ms Grossy were frisked at Wollongong police station.

Acting vice-president (administration) Chris Grange was unable to comment in detail because charges were pending.

In a statement, however, he said students "should follow the proper procedure of raising their concerns through the SRC [to bring] the relevant issues forward to university management".

The occupation was the culmination of Sexuality Week activities at the university, during which, Ms Constable said, Allsorts banners were stolen, torn down and stomped into the dirt and a petition was stolen and defaced with messages such as "die fags".

Allsorts will tomorrow present vice-chancellor Gerard Sutton with its award to Wollongong as the "most homophobic university in Australia".