A social media post to a private Facebook group for Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) students revealed a university lecturer offering his students full marks for an assessment if they “attend the climate Strike today.”
“Hope you are well,” senior lecturer Dr. Hormoz Marzbani wrote. “Yes, you could get full marks (5% of the project mark) if you attend the climate Strike today in Melbourne.”
The lecturer then stated what the students would need to do to gain the assessment marks.
“All you need to do is to email me a group selfie while in the crowd for the strike with one condition,” Marzbani stated.
He added that any photo with “less than half of the group members” would be unacceptable.
Anyone unable to meet these conditions was encouraged to attend the lecture instead.
“In case you do not have enough people for the photo, I suggest you attend the lecture and the group meeting. I will be available in the lecture room,” he wrote.
Marzbani did not comment on the email when approached by The Epoch Times. He forwarded the enquiry to RMIT’s communications office.
An RMIT spokesperson responded to The Epoch Times with an email statement confirming that the student’s in Marzbani’s class had been offered full assessment marks to go towards their project.
“Students in this course are currently completing a design project, and a component of this project relates to environmental impact and ethics.
“While the teacher has determined that the conversation at today’s global climate strike is educational and relevant to the learning for this project, RMIT will of course be looking at the decision to ensure that assessment integrity is maintained,” the spokesperson said.
Responses from Facebook Users
Reactions to the Facebook post showing the email ranged from excitement to disappointment.“Stunning and brave,” one user said.
“He’s always being a legend,” said another.
“Someone organise one of these during exams,” one student joked.
Other commenters weren’t as impressed.
“Dude it’s bribing students to go to the climate change rally. That [expletive] is illegal surely,” one person commented.
“This makes us RMIT Alumni look terrible,” an alumnus said.
“I definitely support the cause but isn’t this academically undermining the value of the grade?” another asked.
‘Global Strike 4 Climate’
RMIT said that the university has “a long-standing commitment to sustainability and we’re proud of the progress we’re making against our sustainability goals” in a public statement regarding the ‘Global Strike 4 Climate’ on Sept. 20.“Climate change is a serious issue for us all and we know that many of our students and staff are passionate about how they can make a change,” the statement read.
“With RMIT’s responsibility to the broader community front of mind, our goal of positive sustainable outcomes and practices is, and always will be, integral to how we operate.
“While we will continue to listen to feedback, we must balance the experience of our students, which is why university operations are continuing today.
“We acknowledge there are a number of students who wish to participate in the strike and our staff have been working to ensure they would not be disadvantaged in doing so.”
Climate strike Organisers estimated 100,000 people at the Melbourne ‘Global Strike 4 Climate’ rally. The number of participants was revised down from 150,000 in initial estimates. Victorian police did not provide an estimate.
Organisers cited smaller but sizable crowds in other states, with 80,000 participants estimated for Sydney, and more than 35,000 for Brisbane. Queensland Police gave an estimate of 12,000 for the Brisbane rally.
“I would love to be in school at the moment but it’s not much choice to be here, the government is forcing us to come,” he said. “My education is important but the world is even more important and we need to help it.”
In Darwin, 11-year-old high school student Argus Gurry told AAP his fears. “The standard of living up here will decrease dramatically. It will be hot and the population here will decrease. Less people are going to want to actually emigrate here and stay here,” he said.
The worldwide strike movement started in August 2018 when 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg began protesting outside Sweden’s parliament on school days.
