Friday, November 09, 2012

Cardinal steps in over loutish behaviour at university college

http://www.stjohnscollege.edu.au/img/topbanner3.jpgThe Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Pell, has directly intervened in the serious behavioural problems at St John's College at the University of Sydney, saying the culture of loutish behaviour must stop. 

He has not ruled out involving the police, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

The cardinal's comments came as the honorary dean of the college, Father Walter Fogarty, announced he was ending his 20-year association with the college at the University of Sydney, saying attempts to effect change were being undermined.

''As a matter of personal integrity I can no longer support the college in the direction it is being taken by its present council,'' he said. ''Unfortunately, there are some associated with the college who will want to say there are no problems when quite clearly there are.''

Fairfax Media reported on Sunday that the 150-year-old college had descended into anarchy, with widespread vandalism, furniture being smashed and set on fire and faeces routinely found in common areas and bedrooms.

The culture was exposed eight months ago when a degrading initiation ritual left a teenage girl clinging to life in hospital. 

But freshers are still being forced into initiation rituals, including the consumption of toxic drinks. And some senior students are showing a cavalier disregard for the fallout from the poisoned girl's near-death, and have even printed T-shirts that celebrate the incident.

The college's honorary dean and a member of the college's executive have quit in disgust, with many former executives and existing students calling on the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Pell, to intervene and ''rescue'' the 150-year-old institution from ''a crippling disease''.

University of Sydney honorary professor Roslyn Arnold said she quit the St John's executive this semester because she was ''ashamed to belong to such a group''.

''Anarchy has broken out and anarchy is not too strong a word,'' Professor Arnold said. ''An external review of the governance of the college needs to be conducted urgently because the fellows are responsible for what happens on campus … I've been in universities for almost 40 years and, to be quite frank, I've never seen anything like this."