The Australian Catholic University (ACU) is set to reimburse students who attended a graduation ceremony that sparked a mass walkout due a controversial speech from Joe de Bruyn, a former union leader known for his conservative views.
Following significant backlash over De Bruyn’s remarks on abortion and same-sex marriage, the university announced it would refund graduation fees to affected students.
What should have been a day of celebration on October 21 quickly turned into a source of outrage, when De Bruyn, who was receiving an honorary doctorate, started his speech.
During his address, De Bruyn made several contentious claims, stating that “over 80,000 unborn children are killed by abortion in Australia each year” and asserting that “abortion is the single biggest killer of human beings in the world.” He also implied that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, citing biblical references.
Attendees and graduates took to the internet to express their disappointment at the bizarre graduation speech, upset that it had derailed their special day.
“My daughter’s graduation so disappointing for her and the others. We walked out once he started, said one attendee.
ACU’s initial response to the outrage stated that De Bruyn’s address was delivered in a “personal capacity”.
“While his views may not be shared by many of our staff and students, as a university we encourage the respectful exchange of ideas that represent the wide spectrum of our diverse community,” an ACU spokesperson noted.
Many unsatisfied attendees, graduates and commenters took to the internet to demand more.
“They owe you a proper graduation ceremony at minimum after all the money you’ve paid or debt you will have after this. You should complain,” said one commenter.
The St Patrick’s Student Association, ACU National Student Association, the Melbourne LGBTIQ+ Society and the ACU LGBTIQ+ Staff Ally Network issued a joint statement condemning the university for allowing De Bruyn’s “deeply degrading and dehumanising” speech.
“De Bruyn’s views were on the public record prior to this ceremony and it could be anticipated that they would cause distress for students and staff,” their statement read.
On October 23, ACU announced it would automatically refund graduation fees to all affected students. The reimbursement covers various costs associated with the ceremony, amounting to $165 per student, including attendance fees, academic dress hire, guest tickets, and post-ceremony refreshments.
Professor Zlatko Skrbis, ACU’s vice-chancellor, expressed regret over the distress caused by de Bruyn’s speech. He stated that graduation should be a “special day” with a “positive experience” for all involved. In light of the fallout from this incident, ACU is also offering free counselling services for those affected by the speech.
A statement from the university also revealed that they knew about De Bruyn’s “polarising” speech, but let it go on anyway.
“The university was aware that Mr De Bruyn planned to speak about a number of polarising issues in his occasional address and asked him to consider a speech that was better aligned to the occasion and more directly celebrated the achievements of our students,” they said.
“We are deeply disappointed that the speech was not more befitting of a graduation ceremony. We do not censor our speakers but recognise that the content of Mr De Bruyn’s address caused distress and offence to many in the audience.”
Skrbis shared that the university “did strongly encourage Mr De Bruyn to reconsider his speech through the lens of the graduating students’ achievements, hopes and aspirations”.
They clearly didn’t do a great job.
In fact, De Bruyn told Guardian Australia that the university never specified what changes he should make to his speech, only that they advised him there would be a “diverse audience” for his speech and that it might be “wise to make some changes”.
In the joint statement from student organisations, there was also concern over rumours that counselling services were already being prepared prior to the graduation ceremony.
“We are particularly concerned by reports from staff that ACU counselling staff were organised ahead of time to be available following the ceremony to support students and staff.
“We therefore call on the ACU senate and executive to explain why de Bruyn was permitted to deliver an address that was expected to result in students and staff requiring support from counsellors.”
As for De Bruyn, he has doubled down on his speech and told The Guardian, “If I can’t talk about issues that have confronted me in my professional life that I tried to deal with consistent with my Catholic beliefs, then what am I getting an award for? I thought it was fair and sensible.”
Adding this on top of a the post-grad existential crisis is wild. A reimbursement is the least the uni can do.
Lead image: @theomandaza via TikTok/ ACU
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