The past and present of protests on campus

Life Matters - Separate stories podcast

Students have gathered on campuses across Australia to protest their universities' involvement with weapons manufacturers and with the state of Israel.

Deakin University and the ANU have called time on the protests, but the Group of 8 released a statement of principals which includes support for "the right to peaceful, non-violent demonstrations on campus as the exercise of lawful Freedom of Speech."

That stands in stark contrast with America, where some student camps have been met with tear gas and rubber bullets by police called in by the university administrators.

This is hardly the first protest to occur on campus grounds — from the Vietnam war to gender equality to student rights — unis have been a site for political expression.

So why do universities become flash-points for protest? And how do the current protests fit into that tradition?