Women’s Collective Protests Colleges After New Report of Hazing, Sexism, Racism
Roisin Murphy reports.
The University of Sydney Women’s Collective held a protest outside St Andrew’s College yesterday, calling for the dismantling of the residential colleges and for the development of affordable student housing in their place.
This follows reports by Honi Soit last week, which revealed fresh allegations of hazing, sexual assault and racism at the College in the years following the Broderick Review, contrasting assurance by the College that change has occured.
The protest fittingly took place against the backdrop of a sign which read “Under Repair / Graffiti Damage”, covering the black spray paint carrying anti-college messages left last week after the publication of Honi Soit’s report. The notable upstir caused on social media by the reports and graffiti was not reflected on Carillon avenue. A few onlookers dwindled at the College window, and some others on the opposite side of the road, but at no point did the groups clash.
The protest aimed to highlight the lack of change within the colleges, and argued that it is seemingly impossible to “reform” them due to a deeply entrenched culture of elitism. As Ellie Wilson, one of the 2020 Women’s Officers highlighted; “Reform doesn’t change the culture that this university is built on”.
Katie Thorburn, the 2017 Women’s Officer, spoke of her time spent living at college, and her time fighting against them while at University, noting the Broderick review occurred during her time as an officer bearer, highlighting the lack of change in the 3 years since; “I had a great time at college… but I was also put in dangerous positions; how many times do we have to tell our stories?”
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi also spoke, reminding the crowd that housing “isn’t a market, it’s a human right”. Faruqi deeply criticised the colleges, describing them as having “no overall benefit besides to the few who might gain privilege”, and saying that “their time is up”.
Following Mehreen’s speech, lecturer in History and NTEU member David Brophy spoke about his time at Ormond College at the University of Melbourne (famous for allegations of sexual assault against its headmaster in 1991 and allegations of rape in 2018). He tells a story which does not ring uncommon. He found a rugby song book in the dining hall, describing it as “the most vile thing” he had ever seen. He and a few friends reported its sexism to the college. They were told that it was tradition, and that because it went on behind closed doors, it caused no harm. One of the friends involved was physically assaulted following the incident. He reminded the crowd of the “heightened urgency” for us to “articulate our alternative vision for the university”.
The final speaker was Madeline Ward, an ex-Women’s Officer and current editor of Honi Soit. She urged those with stories about the colleges to keep coming forward, emphasising the importance of Honi in uncovering issues within the Colleges. Following this, she echoed the sentiment of previous speakers by criticising the class divide that allows the colleges to exist, stressing that “you shouldn’t be able to pay $30,000 a year to get a better education than the rest of us”.