By Jessica McSweeney, Lucy Carroll and Christopher Harris
Warning: Graphic content
The federal education minister has condemned a serious bullying incident at Sydney University’s St Paul’s College in which a student was gagged with a sex toy, saying everyone should feel safe on campus and at residential colleges.
Jason Clare said a new watchdog to receive and investigate student complaints will be set up under the National Student Ombudsman from next year, which could include enhanced oversight over independent colleges.
St Paul’s College expelled six students following a serious bullying incident.Credit: Janie Barrett
“These reports are sickening. Not enough has been done to tackle sexual violence in our universities and for too long students haven’t been heard,” Clare said.
Six students were expelled and another 21 were suspended after the bullying incident at the 168-year-old college last Monday. The event occurred during a mock trial in which a student was gagged with a sex toy and verbally abused.
After the Herald revealed the college had launched an investigation into “humiliation-type behaviours”, 2GB radio host Ben Fordham said on Wednesday multiple sources told him the incident involved a mock trial.
The “trial” involved a group of male undergraduate students playing the roles of judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers.
Other students were invited to attend the trial, which involved examining evidence for the accused.
“At first, I’m told it was light-hearted, and the victim was going along with it, but then things started to spiral,” Fordham said.
The student who played a judge delivered a guilty verdict, and when the alleged bullying victim tried to speak up, the “judge” ordered other students to “gag the defendant”.
The object used to gag the student was a sex toy. While the student was gagged, the group went on to verbally abuse the victim until they tidied the room and went on with their day.
The incident was reported by one student to St Paul’s College, and security vision was obtained by the college showing which students had entered the room.
Clare said a new student ombudsman, expected to be taking complaints from the first semester next year, will be independent and have the powers to investigate complaints and resolve disputes.
The federal government is considering giving the ombudsman the power to police independent residential colleges such as St Paul’s. It will have oversight of student housing owned by the universities.
The six residential colleges at Sydney University are governed under individual NSW acts of parliament which provide for the make-up of their councils. At least one member of the council of St Paul’s must be a member of the academic staff of the university.
In a statement, St Paul’s warden Dr Ed Loane told the Herald: “The college has been shocked and deeply disappointed that some of our students engaged in serious bullying of another student within their friendship group.”
Loane, a former St Paul’s resident and Anglican minister, said support was being provided to students at the college and new residents were trained to deal with bullying and harassment.
“We will review and strengthen this training, and we will continue to ensure we are doing everything we can to provide a safe and respectful community,” he said.
University of Sydney deputy vice-chancellor for education Professor Joanne Wright said on Wednesday morning that she was shocked and disappointed by the students’ behaviour.
“Any form of bullying or harassment is absolutely unacceptable,” she said.
“While our affiliated residential colleges are independent, we endeavour to work together closely when issues arise, with the welfare of students our top priority.
“We are in contact with the college to understand the facts around what happened and the steps they are taking to manage this issue and ensure the safety and wellbeing of students, and to determine any additional measures we may need to take.”
Former St Paul’s College student Alistair Kitchen.Credit: Fairfax Media
One former St Paul’s College student, who introduced a program to build more respectful relationships between young men and women, has described the latest controversy to engulf the institution as “ritualistic humiliation and degradation”.
Alistair Kitchen, who founded the Australian chapter of the Good Lad Initiative to promote a more positive version of masculinity, said the move to decisively expel students was commendable to root out “bad eggs”.
“It strikes me as a clear and commendable attempt to recalibrate the culture,” he said. “Expelling six students is bound to get headlines, and the college could have acted less decisively. From what we know, it appears to be more of a classical group hazing.”
St Paul’s became fully co-educational last year after a string of scandals and a 2018 investigation into its culture which found problems with sexism, binge drinking and ritual humiliation.
That report found students ate sheep’s hearts during initiations and celebrated sporting wins by taking girls to a “bone room” lined with mattresses, while students humiliated freshmen by auctioning them off. The in-house bar was known for groping.
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