John XXIII: ANU college court case hears alcohol consumption was so excessive the college would have been shut down if it was a pub

Lawyers for a woman who was allegedly raped after an unsanctioned booze-up at John XXIII College say students drank so much that the college would have been shut down if it was a pub

First year women were made to get on their knees while they had goon poured into their mouths in a shameful hazing ritual at the ANU’s John XXIII College, a court has heard.

• Drunk students played “piss tag” chasey at ANU College
• Residents held “banned” booze ups at John XXIII
• Women forced to drink goon during “hazing” rituals, court told
• College head made “shocking” comments to alleged rape victim

Lawyers for the woman suing the Australian Nation University’s John XXIII College say it must be held responsible for the “herculean” drinking and hazing that went on there.

The woman’s barrister, Tony Bartley SC, said if a pub near where his client was allegedly raped allowed drinkers to get as drunk as students at the college got every Thursday night, the authorities would have shut it down long ago.

“If every Thursday night the patrons of Mooseheads were as obnoxiously drunk as the students were at John XXIII, the licensing laws would deal with them,” he said.

Mr Bartley said the sexual assault of women by men at the college was a predictable outcome where students were pressured into such heavy drinking.

The woman claims the college breached its duty of care to her by turning a blind eye to heavy drinking and sexual misconduct, and didn’t properly deal with her alleged rape after an unsanctioned booze-up.

In his closing address following two weeks of evidence, Mr Bartley said the college was relying on a “simplistic retort” that the students were adults who were responsible for their own actions, when in fact the college was set up to provide a high level of pastoral care to residents, some of whom were not under 18.

John XXIII College at the Australian National University in Canberra. Picture: Keegan Carroll

Mr Bartley said on the night of the alleged rape, college head Geoff Johnston knew there was an unsanctioned event happening, and that it was unrealistic to think students would “retire to the common room to have a sherry and a cheese biscuit” when told they were being too rowdy.

Mr Bartley said the event after which his client claims to have been raped “pub golf” involved a “massive consumption of alcohol on a herculean scale”.

The college says it had clamped down on heavy drinking, had rules in place and made students attend a seminar about sexual consent.

The college also argues it cannot be held responsible for an alleged sexual assault which took place in the city, and that even if it can, the woman is partly to blame because she was drunk.

Justice Michael Elkaim will deliver his decision at a later date.