OPINION: Newington College, one of the oldest all-boys schools in Sydney, made the decision to change from being a single sex school to a co-ed. Naturally, the simple change has summoned Darrens and Karens in the area who are now literally crying in public like it’s the end of the world, and I cannot get enough of it.
It’s that time of year where everyone gets in the “back to school” spirit.
Now for parents this usually means buying new lunchboxes and stationery essentials… but not for some of the folk of Newington College.
Last November the school announced that as of 2026 it would be allowing female students into its cohort for the first time in the school’s 160 year history.
In response to this, a number of parents and ex-students of the school have spent the first days of term (this week) camped outside of the school gates in protest of the fact the school will soon allow girls there.
In what has been described as a “protest”, a mixture of parents of Newington students, and past students themselves — called ‘old boys’ — are displaying their disagreement for the decision outside of the sandstone school’s gates.
Now you’ve probably already seen some of the protestors online. You’ve probably already heard people say things like how boys will become “second class citizens”, and other amazing feats of mental gymnastics to make their fuss look legitimate.
Peep the example of one of the placards below to get an idea of the bullet-proof logic these people are utilising.
Can one of the Newington big brains explain the mental gymnastics required to reach this conclusion? pic.twitter.com/TbUjbGH7ja
— Pleb Capital (@plebcapital) January 31, 2024
“Co-Ed = LESS diversity”???? Make it make sense????
If you’re an old boy of Newington who has spent $40K a year on learning there, and THAT is the quality of intellect you came back with, I’d be looking into a refund, pal.
Thanks to Nine News we’ve even been given an insightful vox-pop of the protestors, which shows us exactly what they’re thinking.
And BTW “thinking” is a generous word for what they’re doing.
One of Sydney’s oldest boys’ schools is going co-ed, leaving some parents furious about what they call the “woke agenda” behind the move. #9News
— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) January 31, 2024
READ: https://t.co/lEk2MipvdR pic.twitter.com/aS5V96tkbj
Straight off the bat, we see someone who is quite literally crying out on the public over the fact that girls are going to be going to his precious old school.
“I was an old boy of the school, and my son is also an old boy. And the intention was always that I’d have a grandson [be an old boy],” the grown man choked between tears.
“But I won’t bring him to a co-ed school.”
Following him is another individual who was very eager to attribute the school’s decision to “woke” politics, despite the fact the school has said it was to keep it socio-economically diverse.
“It’s all part of this sort of, woke toxic masculinity type palaver,” he claimed.
Boys’ club.
— The Cathy Wilcox (@cathywilcox1) January 31, 2024
My @smh cartoon. pic.twitter.com/iAXKVk2dYB
Now I’m in two minds here, because I do not want to mock someone who is clearly upset about something that means a lot to them.
But that begs the question of why it means so much.
What could lead someone to the point in life where this simple change, something that in fact should be celebrated and welcomed, lead to the point where they are protesting about it in public?
What it shows is the extraordinarily small bubble these people have lived in for their entire lives.
During the rest of this video we see plenty of examples of people who are worried about this one school making the change to become fully co-ed by 2033, and treat it like it is the front of a political battlefield.
And at the end of the day, they are just wrong.
Firstly, they’re wrong to be scared that this is bad for their boys. It’s been well documented that co-ed schools are typically better learning environments for boys, whereas girls do better in single sex schools. So if anybody should be protesting, it’s the future girls who might attend there.
Secondly, it’s not a sudden, politically-fueled decision. The idea was floated around the school community for two years, and the school held over 80 hours of consultation time with parents and alumni before coming to the decision.
What’s so disappointing about this is that it’s a stain on the term “protest”.
There are so many things happening in the world right now that are deserving of public outcry, and this petty excuse for a protest makes all other protests look bad by association.
Just last week thousands of people across the country attended Invasion Day rallies to show solidarity with Indigenous and First Nations Australians.
In order to highlight that a grievous historical injustice was made against the Indigenous communities, protestors took a stand against ‘Australia Day‘.
Thousands marched through the city streets and to governmental buildings, decked out with banners, Aboriginal flags, placards, chants, and most importantly: courage.
Alternatively, this week a bunch of buttoned-up private school parents and old boys held up a few pieces of cardboard out the front of a school, and whinged to the media.
Both these events were described as protests, yet the latter was void of any bravery.
For a bunch of “old” boys, god help me they seemed juvenile.
[Image Credit: 9 News]
