Police have been called to the University of Sydney after a confrontation erupted between students running a food stall to promote the No campaign and supporters of same-sex marriage.
Students from various groups on campus, including the Catholic Society, were holding an informal free food stall on campus at around midday on Thursday when a large crowd of same-sex marriage supporters quickly formed a counter-rally nearby.
Footage from the scene shows heated arguments and clashes between members of the two groups, before a group of about ten police officers arrived at around 12.30pm.
One of the participants of the No campaign event Francis, who declined to give his surname for safety reasons, said between 50 and 70 protesters formed a large crowd in front of their stall and used a megaphone to speak over them, throwing glitter and food products at their placards.
“They started throwing glitter at us, starting taking our own food, the hummus, and threw it on one of our members,” he said.
The original event involved around 25 people from various religious backgrounds who wanted to convey to students one-on-one what the No campaign was about.
“There was nothing offensive, nothing inappropriate. The whole point of the campaign was to say it’s OK to disagree and it’s OK to agree. We are not telling everyone to vote no. Just give people a chance to understand what the No campaign was about.
“It did get unfortunately a bit out of hand,” he said. “We kept encouraging our people to not respond the way they are responding. We are all for free speech and them protesting but to get violent and make threats … It’s a shame we can’t stand on campus and have an opinion.”
