A university student has revealed the horror hazing she suffered while attending a prestigious university, claiming she was subjected to degrading rituals of a sexual nature.
Aria Kirwan said she felt she had no option but to quit her studies at Adelaide University last week due to the disgusting behaviour she was forced to endure during O-Week at St Mark’s College.
Ms Kirwan, 18, said she was forced to massage older male students at the college, and even made to eat food that had been spat on.
Aria Kirwan (pictured) said she felt she had no option but to quit her studies at Adelaide University last week due to the disgusting behaviour she was forced to endure during O-Week
As a first year, or fresher, at the college, she said she felt powerless to object to any of the rituals.
She said one boy who resisted orders from the senior students was punished for it.
‘One boy walks around the school with a dead fish hanging around his neck because he chose to opt out,’ she told Nine News.
St Mark’s College Master Rose Alwyn said the well-being of the students was ‘paramount to us’.
‘St Mark’s takes very seriously any report of sexual assault or sexual harassment. We firmly believe that our students have the right to enjoy a safe, inclusive, respectful collegiate experience and environment,’ she previously told News Corp.
‘The College has been proactive in ensuring that the activities in College meet the standards
and expectations of the wider community and are consistent with our values and purpose.’
Ms Kirwan’s claims are the most recent in a string of damning stories to come out of residential university colleges across the country.
Ms Kirwan, 18, said she was forced to massage older male students at the college, and even made to eat food that had been spat on at St Mark’s College (pictured) in Adelaide
Ms Kirwan’s claims are the most recent in a string of damning stories to come out of residential university colleges across the country (college hazing pictured)
Another woman Kendra Murphy, who was a resident at St Andrew’s College in Sydney, claimed she was raped within a few months of her stay.
Despite telling people at the college, she claimed it was never properly investigated.
St Andrew’s College Principal Wayne Erickson said what allegedly happened to Ms Murphy was ‘unacceptable and inexusable’.
‘At the time we worked closely with [Ms Murphy] to assist her and to ensure that she received every support. This does not excuse in any way the unacceptable behaviours she experienced,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The two women’s stories come after Kathy and Ralph Kelly revealed their son Stuart, 18, committed suicide months after he experienced hazing at Sydney’s St Paul’s college.
The two women’s stories come after Kathy and Ralph Kelly revealed their son Stuart, 18, (pictured together) committed suicide months after he experienced hazing at Sydney’s St Paul’s college
Stuart’s (pictured) parents said he came home ‘sobbing uncontrollably’ after spending one night at the college in February 2016
They said he came home ‘sobbing uncontrollably’ after one night at the college in February 2016 and ‘never recovered’.
The Kelly family have called for college hazing rituals to be outlawed.
They also called for a coronial inquest into their son’s death.
A full investigation into college rituals will be aired on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes at 8.30pm on Sunday.
A heart-broken Kathy Kelly farewells her son Stuart after he committed suicide in 2016
A spokesperson for St Paul’s College said in a statement: ‘The College reiterates its deepest sympathy to the Kelly family in their distress and supports their desire to understand the causes of Stuart’s tragic death.’
‘Stuart Kelly was briefly in College in February 2016 and died in July 2016.
‘Since then, in an attempt to support the Kelly’s attempts to find answers, the College has undertaken its own serious and comprehensive investigations into Stuart Kelly’s brief time in College, including using external lawyers, and has provided that information to the NSW Police.
‘These investigations involved interviews with College staff, senior students and Stuart Kelly’s fellow first year students. These investigations found that the allegations previously made were not substantiated.
‘We understand that investigations being undertaken by the NSW Police and Office of the State Coroner into the circumstances surrounding Stuart Kelly’s death are yet to be completed.
‘The College will continue to co-operate fully and openly with those investigations, as well as with any other further process that may be helpful.
‘We have advised the Kelly family that the College is always available to provide any form of assistance that we can or further information related to Stuart’s time at the College, should it become available.
‘In relation to other allegations, there is not a culture of hazing at St Paul’s College. It is a very positive, warm and welcoming community in which students achieve outstanding academic and extra-curricular results.
‘The College is committed to the values of respect and dignity, including equality of respect for women and men, and actions inconsistent with these values are not tolerated.
‘As part of the College’s commitment to respect and dignity for all, a review of college culture, led by Elizabeth Broderick, is being undertaken. It provides a significant opportunity for the College as a community to learn and improve.’