In the lead up to speaking at the University of Sydney staff and student meeting 'Defend Civil Liberties at University', CCL President Stephen Blanks has spoken to the Sydney Morning Herald and New Matilda on the importance of protecting free speech and the right to protest on university campuses. "How bizarre is it that universities, which have been a hotbed of free speech for centuries, are threatening staff and students with disciplinary action for expressing themselves," Stephen told the SMH. 

Stephen condemned the university's decision to invoke its 'vague' code of conduct against staff and students involved in legitimate protest. He told New Matilda: "The Code of Conduct has in it an obligation on staff to treat people with respect and dignity. That of course is fine in academic discourse but in the context of a protest it’s completely inappropriate. The essence of protest is that one can be contemptuous of those with whom you disagree and you don’t need to treat them with respect. That’s not to say that there’s any justification for breaches of the peace, but that’s not the allegation here."

He also questioned whether the use of force by security guards was proportionate to the situation. 

NSWCCL's involvement comes after the University sent "show cause" letters to 13 people - including five students, a Professor, and two security guards - in relation to a protest held during a public talk on a Sydney University campus by retired British Colonel Richard Kemp.

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