A report delving into college culture in Australia has unveiled explicit details about on-campus living, depicting a sexist culture of rampant bullying, binge-drinking and public humiliation.
The Red Zone report describes a series of alleged rituals at the colleges, including male students masturbating into shampoo and body wash bottles with the intent that female students who left them behind would use them.
Other rituals, which are introduced to first-year students during Orientation Week, include students being encouraged to post graphic and embarrassing photos about other students’ sexual activity online, drink their own vomit and smear faeces on the walls.
A report delving into college culture in Australia has unveiled explicit details about on-campus living, depicting a sexist culture of rampant bullying, binge-drinking and public humiliation
Following sporting seasons, St Paul’s College students allegedly throw alcohol and drug-fuelled sex parties in the college’s Rogers Room, which they referred to as the ‘Bone Room’
Two students are seen dancing inside the ‘Bone Room’, which would be covered in mattresses
The 200-page report focused on the country’s leading colleges over an 18-month period and was published by activist group End Rape on Campus on Monday.
‘While there have been dozens of attempts to stop the abuse over this period, sexual assault and hazing activities have continued,’ co-author Nina Funnell said.
‘In recent years, students and parents have alleged that hazing has contributed to self-harm and actual suicide.’
The report details drinking games where students are egged on to consume more than a dozen drinks without a bathroom stop, causing them to wet their pants, and other rituals such as locking new students in bathrooms and dousing them with vats of dead fish.
Alleged rituals include students being encouraged to post graphic and embarrassing photos about other students’ sexual activity online, drink their own vomit and smear faeces on the walls.
Last week, it was reported an annual ‘Lad’s Weekend’ for new and old students of University of Newcastle’s Evatt House involved male college-goers participating in a variety of bizarre drinking practices
Red-headed male students at St. John’s College participate in an annual ritual where they set their pubic hair on fire.
Last week, it was reported an annual ‘Lad’s Weekend’ for new and old students of University of Newcastle’s Evatt House involved males participating in a variety of bizarre drinking practices.
Most notable being male students, understood to be first years, kneeling down in front of older students and drinking from a cup made from the loose skin above their penis.
Following sporting seasons, St Paul’s College students allegedly throw alcohol and drug-fuelled sex parties in the college’s Rogers Room, which they referred to as the ‘Bone Room.’
The ‘Bone Room’ floor would be covered in mattresses.
Students attending the ‘Bone Room’ would be told to bring a woman based on specific criteria including hair colour, skin colour, weight and sexuality, and many times they had never met the woman before
Rituals are introduced to first-year students during Orientation Week
A woman who attended a girl’s college at Sydney University several years ago, told Daily Mail Australia she was a victim of public shaming from St Paul’s boys after having relationships with some of the male students
Students attending would be told to bring a woman based on specific criteria including hair colour, skin colour, weight and sexuality, and many times they had never met the woman before.
A spokesman for St Paul’s College said ‘there is not a culture of hazing at’ on the grounds.
‘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.’
Another woman, who attended a girl’s college at Sydney University several years ago, told Daily Mail Australia she was a victim of public shaming from St Paul’s boys after having relationships with some of the male students.
The woman, under the alias Carol, described the abuse as an ‘every day pervasive experience,’ where she would be ‘degraded’ for her sexuality.
Carol claims St Paul’s has a file sharing network with other colleges to allow for peer reviewing, which they called the ‘Fun Box.’
Students share illegally downloaded movies and TV shows, which they used as a tool to humiliate women.
‘They would change the titles of movies and TV shows to puns and jokes,’ Carol told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It began with jokes about students being fat, but eventually they targeted specific women. They would write their full name, then change a movie title to characterise her sexually.’
She says she was objectified ’10 or 15 times’ on the platform in her first two years at college, referencing how many men she had slept with, jokes about anal sex and re-titling movies to embarrass her, such as ‘District 9 D***k.’
Several men and women can be seen kissing as they attend a party inside the ‘Bone Room’
Female freshers are sometimes referred to as ‘bait’
Another female student at Sydney University, under the alias Alice, told Daily Mail Australia that her close friend was ‘taken advantage of’ by a St Paul’s student several years ago.
The male student then told students that she was a ‘huge slut’ and she was ‘bullied terribly’ by both St Paul’s and fellow female students as a result.
Alice recalled the tragic circumstances a few years later when her friend committed suicide after battling depression.
‘A few years after we left college, my friend took her own life. It’s impossible to say that this was a direct affect of what happened but I saw her treated terribly and I felt she was given no support really from anyone especially the college who knew she had slipped into depression after the previous incidents.’
Academic and gender equality advisor Professor Catharine Lumby wrote the report’s foreword and has told the ABC it’s ‘sickening reading’.
She says she would not send her child to live in a uni residential college after reading the document.
The University of Sydney released a statement on Monday in response to the report.
‘The University of Sydney is aware of some of the accusations in the report and it is for this reason that we are working with the colleges and Liz Broderick and her team on improving campus culture for the University and five of its residential colleges.
‘Those colleges have accepted all recommendations and their implementation is underway. The process for one residential college – St Pauls – is ongoing.
‘The University will continue to work with student and advocacy groups to do all it can to make its campuses safe and welcoming for all students.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted St Paul’s College and The University of Newcastle for comment.
One man appears to be covered in red paint in a room at the college. The parties often spilled out of the ‘Bone Room’ and into the students’ private rooms