Away from the barricades, a vice-chancellor gives his perspective on protests
Protesters ask us to accept that a near-sacred space should be open to grotesque forms of protest, and that the loudest voices should dominate, writes Yunus Ballim
Student protests at our universities over the past year have made for very difficult times for vice-chancellors. Much of the student anger has been directed at them, with threats of violence to them and their families. Discussion among vice-chancellors now resemble counselling support sessions for traumatised people. For weeks, I have been awakening every morning with a hollow feeling in my stomach, left there by a real-world/dream-world awareness of our students or staff members badly hurt in violent confrontation. My heart skips a beat when the telephone rings. Like many vice-chancellors, I feel seriously underprepared for my job because I am making decisions in conditions that would normally require proper training in areas like security strategy and logistics. At this time a vice-chancellor most strongly feels the aloneness of being the last point of accountability for the decisions and actions in response to protests. At every turn, the correct response is not obvious, but we k...
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