This article contains references to sexual assault/suicide/homophobia/transphobia.
The principal of an elite Melbourne private school plans to meet with a former student who staged a protest on its grounds against its "patriarchal culture".
St Kevin's College principal Deborah Barker is set to talk this week with James Robinson, who graduated from the all-boys Catholic school in 2013, after he "broke in" on Tuesday and set his blazer alight.
Mr Robinson said his act was a process of healing, having been "aggressively outed" by his peers at the school when he was 15 years old and was left feeling suicidal.
He also said he had witnessed misogyny, homophobia, racism and transphobia while he was a student at the college.
"On Wednesday night I became aware of social media posts by a former student who attended Year 12 at the College in 2013," Ms Barker wrote in a letter to parents.
Former student of St Kevin's College in Melbourne, James Robinson, said his protest was part of his healing process. Source: Instagram
Ms Barker said she had "immediately" taken steps to reach out to Mr Robinson, and wanted to "listen to, and fully understand, his heartfelt concerns and his personal journey".
"Most importantly I want James to know that we care for him and acknowledge his courage for speaking out," she said.
"James and I have already been in communication and we plan to meet shortly."
Mr Robinson said his protest was spurred because he saw Collingwood Football Club player Jordan De Goey — also a former student of the school — had been charged with forcibly touching a 35-year-old woman at a bar in New York.
Mr Robinson, who graduated from St Kevin's in 2013, said he had witnessed misogyny, homophobia, racism and transphobia while he was a student at the school. Source: Instagram
"This week, Jordy De Goey, who attended my same-sex Catholic high school, was arrested in New York for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman on a dancefloor. Unsurprising given my school's culture," Mr Robinson wrote on social media alongside photos of his protest.
"I broke into the school yesterday to protest. Something snapped in me this time. That patriarchal culture I saw inside the school gates burst out and made its way to New York. My new home for the last five years."
The charges against De Goey have since been dropped, but he is due to face court in New York in early December on separate charges over the alleged assault and harassment of a 37-year-old man.
Mr Robinson painted a grim picture of the college, which charges high school tuition fees of more than $20,000 a year. He described it as a "bubble where privileged young men can rehearse oppression without consequence", and a place "where 'locker room talk' exists openly in hallways and classrooms.
He said he witnessed revenge porn acts against girls from "sister schools", the objectification of female teachers, and the bullying of a transgender teacher.
"I saw students who pulled a knife on a taxi driver and a principal who subsequently paid to keep it quiet. I saw a system designed to let young boys think they can do anything, assault anyone, and get away with it," he said.
He concluded: "This protest takes my healing full circle. I burn my blazer not in anger, but in hope for regeneration. I kiss my partner not in spite, but to bring love back to the only place that ever taught me shame.
Mr Robinson said he had sent an email to former principal Stephen Russell — who left the school last year amid a child grooming scandal — detailing his concerns and experience in 2019, only to receive a "dismissive response and cancelled meeting."
Mr Robinson and his partner. Source: Instagram
Ms Barker was appointed as the college's principal in August last year — the first woman to hold the position in its 103-year history.
She took the reigns after almost a year of scandals, one of which culminated in an ABC Four Corners investigation on how the former headmaster, Mr Russell, and dean of sport at the college, Luke Travers, wrote a character reference for external athletics coach Peter Kehoe — a former external athletics coach who was convicted of grooming a student at the school.
In her email to parents, carers, and students, Ms Barker said the college was on a "journey of cultural renewal, with a focus on inclusion and welcome for all."
"There is much goodness in our College and yet we still have much to do. It has become clear in my first year, of the importance of listening deeply as we strive to deliver a safe and inclusive environment for all of our students in partnership with their families," she wrote.
St Kevin's College principal Deborah Barker said she plans to meet with Mr Robinson. Source: Supplied/St Kevin's College
St Kevin's College said in a statement that since the review it had, among other steps, rolled out respectful relationships curriculum, established student working groups and increased student leadership opportunities.
Mr Robinson has been contacted for comment.
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