Australian Catholic University will refund graduation fees for hundreds of students who walked out of their ceremony in protest of a keynote speech that railed against abortion and gay marriage. Source: The Age.
Former union boss Joe de Bruyn compared abortion to the loss of life in World War II, denounced IVF treatment for single women and said marriage was between a man and a woman, sparking a mass walkout from students and staff at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday.
In an email sent to all ACU students on Tuesday afternoon, vice-chancellor and president Zlatko Skrbis said the speech may have affected students personally and the university deeply regretted any distress caused, but defended Mr de Bruyn’s right to express his personal beliefs publicly.
“The university will offer a full refund of graduation fees to all students impacted and has also offered free, confidential counselling services to graduates and staff involved,” the email reads.
The university said in the email it encouraged Mr de Bruyn to “reconsider his speech through the lens of the graduating students’ achievements, hopes and aspirations”.
“We are disappointed that the speech was not what most of our graduates would expect on an occasion like this.”
An ACU spokesperson said the refund would be processed automatically in the coming days.
The refund of $165 covers graduation ceremony fees, which includes the cost of the graduates’ attendance, academic dress hire, guest tickets and post-ceremony refreshments, the university’s spokesperson said.
Graduates who bought additional guest tickets would also be refunded.
Mr De Bruyn stood by his speech on Tuesday, telling this masthead he was disappointed people had walked out.
FULL STORY
ACU offers refunds to graduates after conservative ceremony speech sparked walkout (By Caroline Schelle, Alex Crowe and Stephen Brook, The Age)
